


Unquenched Despair

by YourLadyStar



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Blood and Violence, Depressing, Grimdark, Multi, additional tags from final chapter, multiple character death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-01
Updated: 2016-09-13
Packaged: 2018-07-11 16:15:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 41,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7059988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YourLadyStar/pseuds/YourLadyStar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One whose mind is full of despair, depression and anger is vulnerable. Vulnerable to the most darkest and inhumane thoughts of the mind. And when those thoughts surface, all those around are put in its way. Completed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Information

**Author's Note:**

> This is meant to set up the relationships present in this story, all of which are based on a playthrough of Conquest I did specifically for this story.

_The following story is set in an alternate canon to that of Fire Emblem Fates Conquest, in which no casualties are caused. Everyone within the Hoshidan army was spared, Scarlet, Reina and Orochi were able to be saved in the battle within Cheve, Kaden was spared and Azura was able to be saved. But characters such as Mikoto, Garon, Iago, Hans and Lilith still remain dead. This story will be primarily focused on the Nohrian army and only the characters of that game will be affected. The couple's shall go as following:_

_Niles and Corrin_

_Azura and Laslow_

_Xander and Peri_

_Camilla and Keaton_

_Leo and Nyx_

_Elise and Odin_

_Silas and Effie_

_Arthur and Felicia_

_Kaze and Selena_

_Jakob and Mozu_

_Benny and Charlotte_

_All of the children are single, and Kana and Nina do not exist within this world. The children of the Hoshidan army also exist, but their mothers shall be left open ended._

_And with this information, I shall leave you with this warning._

_**WARNING** _

_The following story will include graphic and intense depictions of violence, gore and murder. Those sensitive to said subjects are advised to come into this story prepared. And those fond of the characters of Fire Emblem Fates are advised to keep their guard down, for those who come into this story unprepared will be faced with the worst._

_You have been warned!_


	2. Chapter 2

The dark clouds and the never ending night sky was a constant sight within Castle Krakenburg, the central castle of the Nohrian family. Day, noon and night time passed by the kingdom just as it does all over, but the castle itself seemed to be trapped in the perpetual darkness of the black sky and pale moonlight. But the residents of Nohr minded not the forever night sky; in truth, they relished in it. For the light of the pale moon and the fading stars offered an unbelievable beauty, a calming tranquility and a sense of peace that most would often take for granted in their rush to ready themselves for a good night's sleep. But just as night offers a unique beauty, it can also give a mysterious air of danger and despair. The absence of the warmth and light of the sun can put one on edge, making them fearful of a possible sense of approaching danger that cannot be seen. Perhaps it's why people put so much effort to make sure they are secure within their homes when the light of the moon replaces the light of the sun. And to those within a fragile state of mind, the darkness of night is one such time they wish to avoid. With the sun no longer there to give them that comfort and peace, they feel more alone, more desperate for peace, and more sensitive to the dark thoughts that swell within their mind.

And within the walls of the foreboding castle forever blanketed beneath the midnight black sky, he felt like he was in his own personal Hell.

The tallest turret of the castle, among the highest floor, was the room of the young Nohrian prince, Corrin. Though the kingdom was already made aware of his real origin, they still saw him as one of their own. And within his room, no light shone through. The pale light of the moon and stars faded to the empty darkness of his room, not even the faintest flame of the smallest candle was there to illuminate the surroundings. But even if one were to go into the pitch black room, they still would be able to see the silhouette of the young prince, curled up into a ball on the bed, leaning against the wall so much it looked like he was trying to become a part of it. They could try to speak to him, but it was a rare occurrence if you could even get a single word out of him. For ever since the war with Hoshido ended nearly three months back, hardly any words have left the prince's mouth. Only choked sobs, hushed whimpers, and endless crying. All because of one horrific truth.

Corrin always despised mindless violence. He always felt that if there was any other option, even if the chance of it succeeding was slim, he would take it if it meant that he didn't have to end the lives of innocent people who held no part in the war. And while the task proved to be arduous, especially under the watchful eyes of the monster impersonating King Garon, he did everything in his power to save as many as he could. And while fate was not always so kind to him, particularly during the rebellion in Cheve, he worked tirelessly to save the lives of those who had no fault in this. And he did so, on many occasions. The leaders in Cheve's rebellion were saved from a brutal end, they were able to talk sense into the Kitsune tribe they crossed paths with; even his Hoshidan siblings, who practically came to despise him, he couldn't bring his sword up against, and he granted them the pleasure to continue to live on in the terrible events of the war, even Takumi.

But to him, now, none of those achievements mattered. All the lives he saved seemed so minuscule and pointless now. Because even with all those lives, he constantly questioned himself...why...why…

Why couldn't he save _him?_

* * *

_He was nearing his limit._

_They had made it in inside Castle Shirasagi; they were nearing the throne room, the place where he could finally reveal the truth to his family about the king that had been leading them through this war._

_But Ryoma was not prepared to let him through without a fight. While the soldiers of the two armies fought, Corrin and Ryoma were separated from them, sealed within a room locked away from the others. He knew the others were working tirelessly to get the doors open, so in the meantime, he just had to stay strong against Ryoma's unbridled rage, vengeful anger and undying brute strength._

_By now, both soldiers were both beaten up and showing signs of exhaustion, their bodies were covered in cuts and gashes, though Corrin's were much deeper and more severe. His dragon form allowed him to take many of Ryoma's attacks, though he did have to use his Yato when he got too close. And now both were kneeling on the ground, trying to recover their strength and their breath, as the sounds of the others fighting outside masked their panting. Ryoma was holding himself up using his Raijinto, while Corrin was on his hands and knees, his Yato having been knocked out of his hands somewhere within the room, but he didn't have the strength to go over and try to retrieve it. Instead, mustering up whatever energy was left in his body, he slowly stood, shakily standing on his bruised and battered legs. Holding his upper half up by placing his hands on his knees, he tried one last time, just one more time, to try to reason with his enraged brother._

" _Ryoma...please...please, just listen to me…" His voice was shaky and cracked as he gasped for breathe, "I swear...Hinoka is still alive, I swear she is...please just stop...stop, so I can save you...I don't want you to die…"_

_Letting out a small growl, Ryoma tightly gripped his Raijinto and sent its electric pulses through the ground to where Corrin was and electrified him. He screamed as he felt his body go numb from the electric shock, paralyzing him where he stood as he was practically ready to double over and collapse on the floor._

" _B-Broth-"_

" _I've heard...and seen...enough of your lies to last a lifetime."_

_Ryoma gathered his strength and stood, his Raijinto sparking with an unbelievable amount of energy. A sudden sound caught both of their attention and they saw as the set of doors on each side of the room slowly opened up._

" _Saizo...Kagero," The horrid realization to the doors opening frightened Ryoma, and his rage quickly grew and he looked towards his brother, an aggravated scowl painted on his feature, "You've taken enough lives. This is ending now!" He pointed his now menacing blade at him, "DIE, CORRIN!"_

_Ryoma charged at him. Corrin desperately wanted to move, to grab his sword and hold off his brothers rage for just a while longer, but the electric shocks running throughout his body kept him from even twitching a single muscle. All he could do as he watched his brother quickly approach him was close his eyes and just accept his fate._

_The sound of sword piercing flesh rang in his ears. But, surprisingly, no sense of pain ran through him. Had Ryoma just ended him quickly and spared him the pain of it all?_

…

_No, even the swiftest death afflicted some form of pain._

_Something was wrong._

_Corrin opened his eyes and saw that he was still in the room. But when he saw what had kept him from dying, he felt his heart stop cold._

_The blade of Raijinto did pierce someone, but not him. Instead, it had pierced the body of his husband, Niles. In the short second that had passed when Corrin had closed his eyes, Niles had thrown himself between him and the oncoming sword. His arms were wound tightly around the prince's shoulders, his face buried in his neck, his long white hair no doubt hiding the pained expression on his face from the pain of the blade piercing him. He had been stabbed through the center of his chest, a small puddle of blood forming on the ground as it dripped off the edge of the blade, even the sparks that came from the sword were dyed in a crimson hue._

_As Corrin stood their in complete shock, the surprise of the archer's actions finally hit Ryoma, leaving him stunned._

" _W-What…?"_

_Regaining his senses, he withdrew his sword from the archers body. Corrin finally felt his body able to move again, and he immediately sank onto his knees as he felt Niles' body leaning against him, tightly holding him against his chest, paying no mind to the blood that was soaking his clothes, making them stick onto his skin._

" _Niles, what's going-" Odin spoke as he ran into the room, but stopped and froze when he saw the condition of his friend and the near traumatized prince that was holding him for dear life._

_Corrin payed no mind to him as he felt Niles' body twitching from pain, his chest heaving in an attempt to breathe. It seemed like he was trying to say something, but the words were getting caught in his throat as he coughed up small bits of blood. Corrin desperately wanted to say something, but he felt as though if he opened his mouth, he would likely burst out crying. Niles was gripping onto Corrin's arms so tightly, his hold was beginning to tremble and weaken. Corrin watched and felt as the trembling of his beloved's body slowly dimmed down and the grip on his arms soften before letting go, hands falling limp against the prince's bent arms. Corrin felt himself freeze over as he held the still body in his arms._

_At that moment, the Nohrian royals had made it to the room, all of them stopping when they saw the sight. Ryoma looked over to them and was stunned to find Saizo and Kagero with them, their arms bound behind their backs; they were greatly wounded, but still alive. But before he was able to speak, he felt a powerful blast of magic hit him, knocking him back on the ground before he felt a hand grip the front of his armor and pull him up, as he was met with the rage filled face of Leo._

" _What the hell have you done?!"_

" _I had no intention to kill him, he did it of his own fruition."_

_Leo looked back at his sister, "Elise, hurry! We might have some time left!"_

" _O-Okay!" She made quick work with focusing all of her staff's magic on Niles, hoping that if she just used enough, it would be enough to save him. The archers body glowed in a bright ethereal light, much brighter and stronger than when you were typically healed with a staff. With each passing second the light seemed to grow stronger and stronger, as Elise poured all of her energy into the staff's magic, ignoring the sweat that was beginning to stream down her forehead. She kept the magic growing strong for almost a minute before she finally stopped and dropped to the floor in exhaustion, panting heavily as her entire body felt drained. But when they looked back at the archer, it was as though there was no change whatsoever. He was still, silent, his blood puddled around him and the prince holding him._

_They were too late._

" _Gods, no…" Leo whispered under his breathe before he focused his sight on the prince, "Corrin…"_

_From the moment he felt his husband still in his arms, Corrin had mentally and physically blocked out every sound and action that happened aside from the radiant light from Elise's magic. But when he saw that it had no effect, that's when everything finally set in._

_He was gone, he was truly gone. Never again would he hear his voice, see his smile, feel his gentle touch. Never again would he be able to enjoy his gentle embraces, his loving caresses, his soft kisses. The future of peace and happiness that he was so eager to enjoying upon the war's end was shattered, broken, gone. Gone forever. Just like him._

_And just as quick as the realization sank in, so did the tears. They wasted no time pouring down his face, joining the blood staining his body. Small sniffs turned into loud wails of sheer agony, and his hold on his beloved grew deathly tight. He buried his face into the snow white hair and cried, not having the slightest care how the others saw him, not caring if his voice traveled throughout the castle, not caring if Garon heard his voice and grew suspicious of him. All that mattered now was that he lost his love, he lost his future._

_He lost everything._

" _Hck...hff..._ _ **NNNNIIIILLLLLLLEEEESSSSS!**_ _"_

* * *

Ever since that very moment, it was as though a part of Corrin had died along with Niles. No longer was he the calm, pure hearted and brave prince who always pushed forward and refused to allow the tragedies he faced stop him from achieving his goal. He was just a soulless broken man now. The smile he gave, the kindness he showed, the warmth and love he gave to his friends and family; they had all vanished. From that point onward, he was just an empty husk moving with no sense of motivation and anticipation for what might happen the next day. After that, he just wanted to end everything left to do and just get it over with. He killed Iago, Hans and the monster that possessed Garon with little to no hesitation, his anger towards them for leading him to this lose giving him the strength to fight back with all his force. Even being able to save Takumi from the force that was possessing him, the excitement and relief came and went in a mere second. And from that moment on, he may as well be dead to the world, as he can't recall ever leaving his room in the three months that have passed since then. The daily visits he got from his family and friends, they were very few and far between and rarely lasted more than a minute. The welcoming feel of his room was replaced with a dark emptiness that seemed to drive people away. And the inspiring and kindhearted words that he used to speak were replaced with either silence or quiet never ending sobbing.

Corrin just couldn't accept it. He just couldn't accept that someone who had always been by his side, arms wide open and willing to be there for him in his darkest moments, was gone for good. He constantly found himself wishing that this was nothing more than a horrid nightmare, and that he would wake up and Niles would be there, holding him gently in his arms, whispering comfort into his ear and calming his nerves down. But the more he wished that, the more it hurt knowing that it would never happen. He needed something to help ease the pain, something to make his heart stop hurting from the pain of it all. But nothing anyone, even his Nohrian siblings, had or could say made the ache in his heart go away.

In truth...the only time he felt any sort of comfort after Niles' death was when he was killing Iago, Hans and the monster that was Garon.

It allowed him to release his anger, sadness and resentment without any sort of repercussion. The sheer relief and pleasure he got from ending the lives of those who had caused him so much pain, those who he felt were responsible for leading him into the situation that killed his husband, was... _indescribable_.

It gave him relief. It gave him an outlet to vent his emotions.

**It made him feel better.**

He wanted to feel better, he wanted to make this pain go away, he needed to regain that sense of relief. He wanted that feeling of letting out his despair on those who have wronged him and his friends so much.

That's when he got the idea.

Niles had told him countless stories of the troubles of his past, of all the people he had allowed himself to grow close to, only to be deceived and put in harm's way. The past of his beloved was filled with tragedy and betrayal. And knowing that he wouldn't be able to get that sense of vengeance and relief, he knew what he would do.

He would give his husband the sense of relief that he got.

Feeling energized, he stood up from his bed and exited the room, equipped with nothing but his Dragonstone and the ring he refused to part himself with. It was around midnight now, and the castle residents were all asleep, the only people likely still up and about were the night guards. Not wanting them to get in his way, he managed to sneak his way through them and reached the entrance to the castle.

He knew what he had to do. He wouldn't let anyone stop him and he wouldn't turn back on his goal. This was the only way to make him better, the only thing that seemed to work. Without any hesitation, he gripped his Dragonstone and felt his body morph into the powerful creature that helped him fell so many foes, what he used to eliminate Iago, Hans and Garon. Feeling his entire form complete it's change, he set off into the night, no longer a brave yet kind prince who wished for peace for everyone. But a depraved shell of man with a desire to make the pain in his heart stop, no matter what.

* * *

Loud, incessant knocking pounding on the door caught the thief's attention. An annoyed grimace entered his features for a moment until he heard a distant sound coming from outside the abandoned shed he and his men had taken refuge in for the night. It made the frantic knocking against the door grow a sense of worry in him. Quickly standing, he went to the door and was grabbed by one of the newest recruit before he could open the door all the way.

"Boss, you need to run! You, at the least, have to get out of here!"

He saw the panicked look on the rookies face, eyes wide open like he just encountered a ghost and small specs of blood dotted the side of his face.

"What do you mean? What's going on?"

"This horrid monster ambushed us on our way back. I watched it slaughter every single one of them like it was nothing."

Shock grew on his face, "What?! One simple monster bested our whole group?!"

"Oh, it's no simple monster, boss. It's a horrid dragon. A bringer of death. I was the only one to get away, but it should be here soon. I know it intends to kill you as well!"

A low growl echoed throughout the air and the rustling of the forestation steadily growing louder.

"Oh Gods, it's coming!" He grabbed onto the others mans arms with a fierce grip, "Boss, please, just run! You don't know what that vile creature can do to you!"

"Look, I know you want me to run, but I can't! That monster took my men!"

"Sir, you're life holds more worth than ours! Please, please just ru-"

Before the younger man could finish his sentence, a large figure swiftly ran from the forest to them. A large claw slashed out and clawed at the younger man, the impact decapitating half of his head, his fractured skull falling to the ground and gurgles of blood coming from what little remained of his mouth as his body slumped against the older man as it almost instantly grew limp.

The older man scream in shock and backed off into the shed, dropping his dead comrade onto the ground as he finally got a look at the creature responsible for this massacre.

It was large four legged dragon covered in white, blue and black scales, it's legs were ended with large clawed hands. Jagged pointed antlers adorned the top of it's head, a large jaw hanging off it's chin, and its long tail was ended with short spikes. But what made him freeze was the sheer amount of blood that was covering it. It's clawed legs were tracking blood with each steep, blood dripped from its antlers and jaw like drool, even it's tail had slight trails of blood flowing down it.

He slowly back away from the creature as it slowly moved into the shed towards him. He shakily grabbed his sword and held it in front of him, "Get back you damn beast!"

The dragon kept its steady pace, _"You and all your men had wrote yourselves into this."_ He was struck silent at hearing the dragon suddenly speak, _"You remember your sins, don't you? Many years ago, you infiltrated Castle Krakenburg, and when you knew you were to be caught, you abandoned one of your own just to save yourself."_

He felt his back hit the wall, "H...How do you know of something like that?"

" _Fate comes for all who sin. Did you really think you would never receive punishment for your actions? Do you really think you could continue faking your care for your men?"_ A clawed hand quickly grabbed the sword and slammed it onto the ground, snapping it like a flimsy piece of wood, _"You crumble under the slightest threat to your own being. Even when you saw me kill one of your men in front of you, you dropped him without the slightest hesitation. Men like you don't deserve the pleasure of life."_ With a quick jerk forward, it jammed one of its antlers into the man's shoulder, lifting him off the ground as he screamed in pain. _"For the man you left to die, for all those you deceive with your false promises, I'll end everyone's suffering!"_ It impaled the long fingers of its claws into the man's torso, watching as he squirmed in pain before slowly bringing its claw down, slicing through the man's body and ripping apart his insides as he chocked on his own blood. Once the claw hand reached his waist, with a hard jerk the dragon pulled down, ripping off the bottom half of his body as his blood and intestines spilled onto the floor with a loud plop. The man lets out small groans before he went limp in the dragon's grip. With a flick of the head, it removed the man from its antler before making its way out of the shed and back into the forest.

With the deed finally done, Corrin let himself slump onto the ground as he began to pant. The sheer feeling of releasing his anger, using it to remove those who wronged his beloved, it felt so _euphoric._ It was a feeling of sheer relief, the same he felt when killing those who made him suffer.

" _It's still...not enough,"_ He looked at his red stained claw, watching as the fluid slid down the silver ring on one of his long fingers, _"It still hurts...there are still others who wronged him...I'll make them pay...I'll make them all pay!"_

Corrin stood up and set off once more. The many stories that Niles had told him gave him a long list of people for him to find, and he had done plenty of research to find where they all were. They wouldn't escape him. He would make them pay.

He would make the pain go away.

For several days on end, Corrin traversed throughout the land, looking for everyone who he knew had once harmed his beloved. He had lost count of how many lives he had ended, of how many hours he spent tracking them down; all he knew was that his body utterly reeked of blood and with every life he took, the feeling of relief was growing stronger and stronger. But it wasn't staying. The feeling would be present for only a few seconds before it was replaced by the pain. No matter how much blood he spilled or how much he mutilated his targets, it kept disappearing. He wanted it to stay, he wanted the pain to stop. So he kept killing. He quickly worked to find his targets and mutilate them. But the distance between them was growing, and his patience was waning. Eventually, he found himself killing any nearby wild animals he could find on his path. The feeling of taking their lives wasn't as euphoric as the others, but they held him off. Kept him steady. It made the pain leave him for the smallest moment. And they were merely simple animals, so there wasn't much regret for taking their lives. In truth...they served as a good food source for him. They kept his energy up, as he was losing count of how long he had been on this killing spree, and just how long it's been since he had even reverted back to his human form. All he knew as that he had to kill more. _More._

His latest victim had led him to a set of woods, close to a nearby village. But as he looked down at the mangled remains of his latest prey, he felt the sense of relief hit him, along with something else. He couldn't comprehend it at first, but as he kept his gaze down at the bloodied and torn body that laid beneath him, the feeling became more stronger, more understandable. It hit him.

Fascination.

Just the way he saw what had remained of his prey, the intricate way in which he had ended his life, this one in particular had his chest ripped open, exposing his insides which had been ripped up by the dragon's claws, and his face that was nearly torn off, made him feel impressed with himself. With how much strength he possessed and just how well he could kill. Yet, it didn't seem like this was all he could do. He wanted to see more. _More!_

The sudden shriek of shock caught his attention and he looked up, seeing a young teenage boy looking at the horrid scene with wide eyes. As Corrin stared at the horrified stranger, he felt that desire in him to kill grow. But even though he knew that this man was innocent, even though he knew he wasn't one who deserved death, the way he stared at the helpless human, the more he saw him as a simple animal, something for him to kill to hold himself off, to relish in the feel of killing. He had to. He wanted more. _MORE!_

He quickly pounced on the bystander and pinned him to the ground, and before the boy could scream for help, Corrin sank his jaw into his neck and pulled, ripping his throat out all the way down to his lower abdomen. As he watched the boy gurgle and choke on his own blood and tried desperately to catch his breath, the dragon delved back in and began ripping of more of his torso and abdomen, making his way into his insides and slowly pulled out his organs before reaching in one last time, picking up his heart in his jaw and closed it, crushing the beating heart into a bloodied pulp, ending the boy's life.

Staring down at the being that he had killed so easily, he felt like he was in heaven. The taste of blood in his mouth, the unbelievable satisfaction he felt, the display of power he showed, it made him feel exhilarated.

But it still wasn't enough.

"Haaah...haahh...gaahhhh…"

Corrin felt his breathing get heavy, as the sheer smell of blood overloaded his senses.

"Hah...rah... ** _GRAAAAahhhhh…_** "

The animalistic growl that came from the dragon rumbled throughout the area before he felt his body moving on its own towards the nearby village.

It's not enough. He wanted more.

* * *

Sudden shrieking of screams woke all those in the village that were asleep. As some rushed to see what was going on, some looked out their window and were met with a horrific sight. A large formidable dragon soaked in blood chasing down some of the residents, only to soon grab them and kill them. Some saw as their friends were murdered in a variety of ways; some had their bodies ripped in half, others were stabbed through their chest by either a large claw hand or a spiked tail, some were decapitated in one swift motion and if you were one solitary person, you were at the mercy of the absolute worst form of torture. Those who rushed outside to help were instead rushed to their demise as the dragon immediately pounced on them the moment it caught sight of them. Those who chose to remain indoors were not spared from the dragon's wrath, as it broke its way into the house and seek out anyone who dared to escape it. Even those who attempted to fight back were at a severe disadvantage. As the sudden ambush left them completely unprepared, the most they could fight back with was the fire they used to light their village, but it work against them as when they got near the flame, the dragon had made its way to them and pushed them down into the fire, burning them alive. Even the people who attempted to run away didn't get very far before the creature managed to reach them and drag them into the hell that was escalating in the village. Within mere minutes, the bodies of the residents lined the ground, the smell of blood overflowed the air, and the fire that had once been used for assistance was now spreading, burning the village down. Corrin stood in the center of the ruined village, his whole body enthralling in the feel of the blood covering him, staining every part of him.

No sense of self remained in him. No coherent thoughts ran through his mind after needlessly slaughtering so many innocent civilian. No feel of remorse coursed through him. Every part of him was now drowning in the amazing feeling, the sheer rush of the kill. It had been everything he wanted. Every destructive instinct that he had been warned about was now filling every part of the once noble prince. Any sense of morality was now buried under the feel of killing. The feel of relief still present, stronger than it had ever been. But it was slowly fading away.

_**Still...Not...Enough...Still...Want...MORE!** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keep in mind that things are only going to get worse from here on out. If you want to back out now, this is your only chance.  
> Take my warning to heart.


	3. Chapter 3

To say that the Nohrian army, who had managed to survive many years of conflict and war against the neighboring kingdom and were filled with brave soldiers who faced any challenge without any sense of fear, were growing increasingly worried of the recent turn of events would be an absolute understatement.

They were first given a shocking surprise upon waking up one morning only to find that Corrin had completely disappeared. No trace of what he was up to or where he was going was left, his room was in the same condition as it always was, not even the night guards caught any sight of him leaving, nore were able to question him about his destination. Nearly two weeks had gone by since then and they had yet to get any luck in finding out where he was. It was as though he vanished into thin air. Some were willing to give him the space, believing that he just needed to get out for a while in hopes of making him feel better. But others were still wracked with worry, especially the royals, who sent out frequent search parties in hopes of obtaining any information on their lost brother.

But for now, their search would have to be put on hold. As they had just received word of a nearby massacre on a local village.

The Nohrian royals and their retainers went to check on the condition of the village, and once they finally reached it, they were utterly shocked on the horrid state they found.

Nearly every building was charred, destroyed, burned down to the ground, covering the dust and dirt floor in ash, soot...and blood. Walking throughout the desolate village, they found endless upon endless amount of bodies, some of which were burned from the fire that destroyed the homes, but all were shown to have been killed in such horrid ways. They had all watched their steps in hopes of avoiding stepping on any of the corpses that littered the ground, not wanting to defficate them any further than what they already were like. They found that no one had survived, the only ones who seemed like they were attempting to leave were found lying dead near the outskirts of the village. Even though they had witnessed countless amounts of death and horrors throughout most of their lives, the state of this helpless village left them all horrified. It didn't even seem like a typical raid, not in the slightest. The sheer amount of casualties in one night and the way they found many of the corpses mutilated, it seemed like it was ravaged by a group of animals. But they knew that was impossible. The wildlife around the village was hardly at all dangerous, not even enough for them to be utterly ambushed on a whim. But they had no knowledge of what it could have been. This event occurred overnight, and there are no survivors to tell them of what happened.

All they could do now was focus their search efforts on finding the ones responsible for this. In this time of newly found peace, the last thing they wanted to see was more needless bloodshed.

* * *

Several searches for the culprit responsible for the massacre had been sent out, and one was nearing its closure. The sun was setting upon the horizon, the coming of twilight shining in the sky and night soon to come forth. Azura watched the beautiful changing patterns of the sky, waiting as the soldiers that she lead into the nearby towns near the Nohr capital finished their search and ended the last of their surveys of the residents. She had joined them on their latest search, her own worry for the culprit growing stronger, along with the disappearance of her dear friend. She had been sitting on pins and needles ever since Corrin's disappearance, and with this new string of murders occurring in the area, she couldn't help but fear for the worst of what could have happened to him. But she couldn't let her fears consume her; she promised herself that she would find her dear friend and bring him back home. Hearing the footsteps of the approaching soldiers, Azura looked back at them.

"Lady Azura, we've finished scouting the last town."

"Thank you. Have you discovered any information?"

"Unfortunately, we were unable to learn anything regarding the assailant."

Azura nodded at the soldiers disappointed, "That's okay. We will have plenty of time another day to continue our search. For now, let's head back to the castle."

"Yes, milady."

The soldiers began to make their way down the path, returning to Castle Krakenburg. But before Azura could join them, she heard the sound of wing flaps coming from behind her, along with a light breeze against her back and a large shadow coming down from the sky. She turned around and smiled as she saw a large elegant pegasus land down on the ground and its rider leap off and land on the ground.

"Mother, have the others returned?"

"Yes, Shigure. Unfortunately, they haven't found anything yet."

The young man's face dimmed down, "I was hoping for the best. I couldn't find any information on the murderer as well. I also took the liberty to see if anyone had seen any signs of Corrin, but nothing. I was really hoping to get some good news for you."

The songstress smiled at her son's kindness, "It's okay, I'm just glad you tried your best for me. But, I must ask, did you find any new casualties?"

"Unfortunately, yes," He shuddered at having to say the words, "Some of the townspeople I question had told me some friends and family members of theirs had left last night to gather materials, but had never returned. I went to see if I could find them, but...all I found were corpses. Killed in the same way those people in that village were." He looked up at her, "Mother, the more people I've seen get killed by this murderer, the more I assume the worst."

"I know. It's upsetting to know that more people are dying to something we know nothing about."

Shigure looked at Azura and noticed something strange about her posture when she spoke, "Mother...did you find some casualties as well?"

Azura hands, which had been crossed against her torso ever since the soldiers had come back to report, finally moved outward toward Shigure, revealing the inside of her hands and forearms to be stained red.

Noticing her son's frightening expression, she spoke, "I found some as well on my search. I tried to save them, but...their injuries were too severe." She folded her arms back against her chest and looked at him, "Shigure, do you mind if we stop by a lake? I'd like to wash this off me before we return home."

"Of course."

The two joined by the pegasus made their detour into the nearby forest, silently walking until they reach a clearing. The large open lake that resided close to the castle, the tallest towers could be seen from where they were. Shigure and his pegasus rested near the edge of the lake as Azura walked into the water, stopping once she reached around knee deep water, and bent down as she began to wash her hands. The red fluid covering her hands mixed into the water, slowly fading into the clear blue lake. The relief of removing the sticky fluid sank in immediately at seeing the red now in the water as supposed to her skin. Shigure couldn't help but smile at seeing his mother look so peaceful, but his attention grew elsewhere when he felt his pegasus suddenly jolt and start to back away.

"What's wrong?" He tried to console his steed and Azura turned back to look at them.

"What is it, Shigure?"

"My pegasus seems afraid," He saw his steed looking into the area behind him with wide horrified eyes, but when he turned to look himself, nothing was there, "Please, calm down. There's nothing there, don't be afr-"

Before he could finish, the pegasus let out a loud neigh before taking off into the forest, running away like it's life depended on it. Shigure was left stunned and heard his mother speak, "Go after it, I'll wait for you here," before he ran off to follow after it.

Azura watched as her son sped off into the forest after his steed, but she found herself confused as well. What could have caused his pegasus to get so frightened? No wildlife occupied the forest area near the castle, nothing especially that could scare a steed that had fought in a war and endured so many horrors. And she hadn't seen or hear anything from the direction it was staring at. Perhaps it had just seen a snake slither nearby and got scared. For now, Azura finished washing her hands off and stood up, walking out of the water and onto the dry land. But when she did, a low growl rang throughout the area.

" _ **GRAAAAAAAAaaaaaarrrhhh…"**_

Looking towards the direction the sudden rustling of leaves came from, she was horrified as she watched the dragon form of Corrin slowly make his way out of the forest into the clearing, his sight seemingly trained directly on her. She would have been relieved to see him, if not for her noticing the sheer amount of blood that stained his body. Some of it was stuck on his scales, slightly cracking with each move he made, and some was fresh, dripping off him and onto the ground, staining the green plant life in crimson red. She couldn't believe what she was looking at. Had Corrin given in to the destructive nature of the dragon blood in his veins? No, that couldn't have been. The dragonstone she gave him was meant to prevent this, and she knew he didn't go anywhere without it. Besides, the state he was in was too far gone to have been caused just by the dragon alone. Something much worse had happened to her friend, but she didn't know what.

What she did know was that he was slowly stepping closer to her, posture and look as though he were a wild animal, slowly stalking in on its prey and ready to pounce on it at any moment. Azura felt her fear steadily growing, she had to do something, but she couldn't bring herself to hurt such a dear friend.

There was only one other option.

Taking a deep breathe, Azura held out her hands as the light on the pendant around her neck began to glow as it slowly lifted.

 

_"You are the ocean's gray waves~"_

 

Corrin, now standing a mere few feet in front of her, stopped in his tracks as she started her song. Azura took this as a good sign and continued, slowly walking towards him.

 

_"You are the ocean's gray waves, destined to seek_

_Life beyond the shore, just out of reach~"_

 

With each step she took towards him, he took a small step back, rearing away from her. A smile painted her face as she sang and reached out to touch him-

 

_"Yet the waters ever change_

_Flowing like time_

_The path is yours to cl-"_

 

-until a loud roar sounded from the dragon, and he quickly clawed out at her. But unlike before, when she had first reached out to him, where the only injury was a minor cut, this time he clawed at her with murderous intent, ripping open her throat as she fell to the ground, choking on air and her own blood.

Azura was gasping for air, any pants she could release was interrupted by her coughing up her own blood. But as she tried to stand, she felt a large dragon claw grab her torn neck and push her into the water. It wasn't anywhere near deep enough to drown someone, but she was being held against the ground, keeping her just mere inches away from the air of the surface. As she struggled to get any air into her from being under the water surface and having her throat slit open, she suddenly felt an unbearable pain on her torso. She scream, muffled from the water, and looked down to see his free claw slowly scraping its way down her torso. With each rip of her skin, she tried to scream, but the massive gash in her throat and the water blocked of her air, yet each rip into her body made her want to scream out, the clear water of the lake was being dyed in her blood, the bubbles of her gasping breath and thrashing of her body as she tried to free herself covered her blurring vision. She felt the tearing of the dragon claw now digging into her insides, ripping out parts of her intestines as they floated along the water's surface. She felt her strength waning, her grip on the claw holding her neck growing weaker as her vision was dyed completely crimson. She felt her lungs compressing from the unbearable pain from her body being ripped apart and the water filling her lungs. The last thing she saw was a sea of dark crimson and the looming dragon standing above her before she stilled, her thrashing stopping and the last of the bubbles reaching the surface.

Raking his claw down her body one last time, Corrin stopped and let her go, watching as her torn up body slowly floated to the surface, her ripped apart torso coming into view and her insides floating alongside her in the sea of crimson water. He relished in seeing his work and let out a small growl.

And it was a good thing he was too absorbed in his own feeling to take in his surrounding, else he would have likely heard the covered sobbing coming from the bushes.

Shigure had managed to catch up with his pegasus and calm it down, though it seemed reluctant to come back to the clearing, so he had come back to the clearing to tell Azura that everything was fine. But the moment he caught sight of what was happening, he felt like he walked right into a horrible nightmare. The sight of the horrid beast holding his mother down into the water, ripping into her like a crazed animal made him want to vomit. He wanted to run out and stop him, do anything to save her, but the moment he caught sight of the organs floating, he knew it was too late. All he could do was watch as the dragon ripped his mother apart, forcing his body to be still, biting down on his lip until it bled to prevent him from screaming, and once he saw that the act was over, it took everything in his power to silence his cries, his eyes blurring as the tears flowed down his face.

He couldn't believe it. He just watched his own mother get murdered right before his eyes and couldn't do anything to stop it. He accidentally let out a small whine and watched as the dragon perked his head up. It heard him. He hid himself behind the tree he was against and peered out from the side, seeing the dragon looking around, occasionally peering in his direction. He had to get away. Now that it heard him, he had to get away. There was no way he could outrun the dragon on foot. He at least had to get to his pegasus.

Peering out one last time, he saw the dragon was still looking around, looking for any sign of him. Now was his chance. Staying as silent as he could, Shigure started to walk away. He kept his pace steady, watching his every step to avoid making any noise to draw attention to him. He made sure to listen keenly for any signs that he was being followed. He felt every nerve in his body tense up, every hair on his body was standing in fear. He never felt this afraid, so frightful that he might, at any moment, be ambushed and killed. Not even when his home in his deeprealm was attacked had he felt this afraid that his demise might happen.

Shigure kept walking, the distance between him and his pegasus seemed to stretch on forever, and he thought he would never be able to reach it. And when he heard a low roar coming from not too far behind him, he abandoned any sense of being careful and kicked it into high gear, launching himself into a full on sprint towards his steed. He could have sworn he heard heavy footsteps following after him, but he didn't care in the slightest. He just wanted to get away. And a small glimmer of hope filled him when he saw his pegasus in the distance. He rushed to it and quickly hopped on its back, telling it to fly before he could even settle himself properly on it. The pegasus flapped its wings quickly and lifted itself off the ground, but was unable to get far before it let out a loud whine, sounding almost like a scream. Shigure looked down and saw Corrin beneath them, his large dragon mouth biting onto one of the pegasus' legs, fangs burying deep into its calf, as he tried to pull them down to the ground. With quick work, Shigure grabbed his lance and stabbed down at Corrin, hitting him where one of his eyes normally would be, causing him to growl in pain and let the flying steed go, allowing them to set off into the sky. With the bright colors of the sky fading into dusk filling his vision, Shigure finally allowed himself to breathe out a long sigh of relief, thankful that he was finally safe from that monster. He looked back at where his pegasus had been bitten, seeing small bits of blood from two holes where the fangs had protruded fall to the ground below, but no sign of any tear in the skin. He softly ran his hand down his pegasus neck, stroking its mane, "I'm so sorry you had to go through that, my friend. But we're safe now. We're okay," His steed seemed to relax at his words and focused on its path. Shigure grabbed onto the reigns of his steed and guided him, "Quick, we have to find someone to help," He focused on the path ahead, not wanting to look back at what he saw, not wanting to be reminded of what just happened.


	4. Chapter 4

Dusk was fading among the horizon, the sky slowly fading into the darkness of night, the light of the sun disappearing and being replaced by the glow of the moon and the stars. Though the process was missed over Castle Krakenburg, they knew that night had arrived. Many were within the castle, relaxing after a day of training and searching for any answers to the recent murders. Being within the castle walls gave them a sense of peace, a luxury they had missed out on for so long. Leo silently walked through the many long stretching halls of the castle, taking note of each soldier he saw and smiling at seeing them look so relaxed and unharmed. It was a luxury to him, knowing that the people he had come to know so well were alive and safe. He couldn't help but be more wary of their state of health ever since Niles' death. He never had anticipated losing someone so strong, someone who had survived so much, so suddenly. There had been many whispers over the months since then between the other soldiers and guards, whispers if he had any intention of promoting one of the other units in the army to be his new retainer or if he had plans to locate a new one entirely. Leo deafened himself to their whispers. While he did miss his friend and felt bad for Odin for now having to service Leo on his own, he couldn't bear finding a replacement for Niles. At least not yet. He wanted to be in a state where he felt he was recovered before he went there, and he wanted to be sure that Corrin was well and in a better state of mind. But with Corrin having disappeared and many innocent lives being taken in one night, finding a new retainer was the last thing that was on his mind.

As he continued his stride through the castle, checking on each of his soldiers, he came to a halt upon looking into one of the rooms. The only occupants within were Laslow and Soleil. Laslow was pacing back and forth near one of the large windows, his head facing down but not hiding his worried expression, muttering something under his breath that was too low for the prince to make out. Soleil was standing in front of the window, peering outside, her head and eyes turning and surveying every bit of land she could find.

"Laslow, Soleil, is everything alright?" He asked them upon entering the room. Laslow seemed to take no notice of them, but Soleil turned her head in his direction.

"We're worried about mom and Shigure," She turned her attention back outside the window, "They haven't come back from their search yet."

"They haven't? They should have been here by now," The prince pondered the situation for a moment before turning towards the door, "I'll let Xander know."

The small nod from the girl was the only response he got before he left. With the recent events, his mind couldn't help but wonder the worst, but he kept those thoughts down and focused on finding his brother. It was too late for him to be within the throne room, so he opted instead to check his bedroom. Making his way through the castle, he reached the door to his brothers room, raised his hand and knocked on the door.

"Yes?" A deep voice came within the room.

"Xander, it's Leo. I need to ask you something."

"Come in."

Leo grabbed the doorknob and entered the room, seeing his older brother sitting in front of the small desk inside the extravagant room. Xander looked at his brother upon entering the room.

"What is it?"

"I just saw Laslow and Soleil. Both of them are worried because they said Azura and Shigure haven't returned yet."

"I know," His expression grew worried, "I greeted the soldiers that went with them when they arrived. They said the two were with them when they left, but probably took a detour on their way back here. I was willing to give them some time, but an hour has passed since then and still no word."

Leo walked closer, "Xander, you know I don't want to assume the worst. But with everything that's happened recently, I don't want to take any chances and just wait for them to return. The last thing I want is to tell Laslow and Soleil any bad news."

"I know," He said again and stood up from his seat, "Come with me."

The younger prince followed his brother out the room and the two made their way through the castle, and once they passed the room Laslow and Soleil was still in, Leo called out to them and gestured for them to follow him. The four made their way to one of the larger resting rooms in the castle, where almost all of the soldiers of the army were currently in.

"Everyone!" Xander's voice caught the attention of the entire room, who stopped and looked at him.

"What is it, Xander?"

"I need volunteers to go on a search right away."

"Huh? What for?"

"Azura and Shigure have yet to return from their recent search. Know that I have high faith that they are safe, but in times like this, I can't throw caution to the wind. That's why I need some of you to find them and bring them back."

"Then daddy and I will go," Velouria immediately chimed in, grabbing the other wolfskin's arm.

"Huh?" The older looked at her baffled, "Velouria, I think I can find them on my own. You know me, I'm an expert tracker."

"Yeah, but you only know Azura's scent. You'll need my help if you want to find Shigure. Besides, if that killer is out there, I don't want you to go alone."

The look she gave him told him right there that there was no changing her mind, "Oh, okay. I guess if it helps this go by faster."

"Pop and I will go with you, too."

Percy's sudden voice caught the two wolfskin's attention.

"You sure, kid? You and your father aren't the best at tracking compared to us, you know."

"Still! If something horrible happened to our friends, we can't just stand around. Real heroes don't just abandon their friends, right pop?"

"That's right son," The older blonde patted his son's head, "We won't be a burden to you, Keaton. So we'll come along."

"Well, I guess it wouldn't be a pain to bring you two. I don't really care," He glanced in a different direction to avoid looking at them while talking.

Xander smiled, "Keaton, Arthur, Velouria, Percy, thank you. And be careful."

Camilla went to the two wolfskins and petted their heads, "Please do take care, and be sure to come back soon."

Felicia also went to the two ax wielders and hugged them, "You two be careful out there, okay?"

The four nodded and left the room as Soleil spoke, "Please bring them back!"

The small group made their way to the entrance and made their way out, entering the night sky and dark scenery.

Keaton looked at the two ax wielders, "Now, we shouldn't all stick together. After all, we don't know where those two went. So, Velouria and I will check the woods. You two can look around the grounds around here, just in case they're close by."

"Sounds good to me," Percy spoke before he whistled into the area and a large wyvern flew down next to him, "Ace looks ready to go."

"Keaton. Arthur."

A sudden voice caught the four's attention, and they looked back to see Kaze standing near the entrance way.

"What is it, Kaze?"

"During your search, see if you can find Midori. She went out to gather herbs a while ago. Maybe she knows where Azura and Shigure are."

"Got it."

"Thank you," The ninja smiled to them and headed back inside.

The four nodded to one another and went on their separate ways, the wolf duo headed into the forestation while the two ax wielders headed to check the nearby castle grounds.

* * *

Keaton and Velouria sniffed their way into the deepest parts of the forest. The scent of their missing comrades was nowhere near the castle, making them wonder just where they could have possibly gone. Small specks of their scent was being picked up here and there, so they could only assume they were on the right track.

"Daddy," Keaton looked back at his daughter's sudden voice, "Do you think they're okay?"

"Don't worry, I'm sure they're fine. Those two are no slouches in battle, so they can handle themselves."

"Yeah, but, with that killer who destroyed that village...how can you be certain?"

Keaton stop and turned to face her, "Well, sometimes you just gotta have faith in people. Besides, we made it this far. With everything that was thrown at us, I don't think we'll be stopped anytime soon. So don't worry yourself, okay?"

Velouria smiled and nodded, "Thanks, daddy."

He smiled at her and the two continued their search. The traces of scent were growing steadily stronger, and then Velouria picked up something.

Keaton noticed her loud sniffing in a particular direction, "You got something?"

"I think so," She sniffed again, "It smells like Shigure."

She ran off in the direction of the scent and Keaton followed after her. She eventually came to a stop in a certain spot and sniffed at the ground, "It's really strong here. I can get both him and his pegasus. But-" She sniffed around the area, "-it's only strong here, and it seems like it's going in that direction." She pointed towards the trail of the scent.

"Well, if it'll lead us to them, let's go."

She nodded and followed after her father, tracing the scents trail. She followed behind him at a steady pace, following the scent, until he came to a dead halt and put his hand out, stopping her.

"Daddy, what's-"

"Shh," He silenced her and sniffed the air, catching the scent of Azura and something else. Something that made his face pale in disgust.

"Velouria, what do you smell?"

She sniffed the air, and picked up the scent that made him freeze. A deep metallic smell that made her cringe.

"Blood…"

Keaton's ears perked up, catching the sound of rustling nearby.

"Velouria, go. Now."

He didn't give her a chance to react before he grabbed her arm and pulled her along, walking at a fast pace in the opposite direction.

"Daddy...what's wrong?"

"That blood back there, that was Azura's," Her eyes widened at his words, "And I heard something back there. We need to go now."

She nodded and grabbed his hand tightly, the two continuing to walk briskly, keeping themselves quiet to avoid drawing any attention to themselves. Keaton could tell from her trembling form, her clumsy walking and the painfully tight grip she had on his hand that she was frightened out of her mind. He made sure to keep his hearing on point, to see if whatever he heard back there was close by. He quickly picked up the sound of rustling nearby, growing louder and louder. Whatever he heard back there was following them, not just following, but actually chasing them down, as the soft rustling turned to stomping footsteps closing in on them. Keaton quickly grabbed Velouria, who seemed to have not been paying attention to the sound, and pushed her to the ground with him, barely managing to avoid the large claw that attempted to slash at them as the creature that claw belonged to had jumped over them, landing in front of them and turn itself towards them.

The two looked up and saw the dragon form of Corrin, his body looked like he was ready to pounce on them and he growled deeply at them. They both caught the immense scent of blood on him, so strong that Keaton had to cover his nose and Velouria felt like she might vomit any moment now. But once Keaton caught the scent of Azura's blood on the dragon's body, he knew exactly what happened to her. The scent of Shigure wasn't present on him, giving him some sort of relief. But when he saw the murderous look on the dragon, he knew what was going to happen.

"Velouria, stand back."

"Daddy…"

He moved her behind him and stepped towards the dragon, gripping his beastone from his pocket tightly as he felt his body morph.

_"You're not getting anywhere near her."_

Corrin let out a loud roar before he pounced towards Keaton. He blocked the dragon off with his large arm, stopping him before the dragon bit into his arm and started clawing at any skin he could reach. Keaton felt his arm and torso being cut multiple times, and used his free arm to strike Corrin, hitting the dragon on its underside and sent him flying off. Corrin squirmed on the ground for a moment before he stood up and tried to pounce at him again. Keaton stopped him by grabbing onto his antlers, but this left his claws free, and he used this to slash at Keatons chest, his long nails digging deep into his flesh. Keaton screamed and his grip on the dragons antlers loosened, letting Corrin pounce on him and pin him to the ground, mouth and claws biting and scratching at anything he could find; arms, chest, neck, legs, even his face. Feeling one of the claws scratch over his eye, Keaton screamed out and couldn't find himself able to focus on getting the dragon off him with the amount of pain surging through him. Velouria, who had found herself frozen throughout most of it, finally snapped when she saw her father being held down with so much ferocity and being practically ripped apart.

"GET AWAY FROM DADDY!"

She ran up to stop him, not even bothering to grab her beastone. Hearing her yell, Corrin stopped his assault on Keaton and jumped off him, ramming his head into the approaching Velouria, knocking her against one of the large tree trunks, her back hitting first, sending her tumbling on the ground.

_"VELOU-"_

Keaton tried to sit up when he saw his daughter get launched. But Corrin swiftly whipped around and struck Keaton in the head, his antlers striking hard against the side of his head. He landed on his side and felt the energy of the beastone leave his body and, upon looking back down at his hands, saw that he was back to normal. But before he could even sit up, Corrin came from beside him, raising his body up, his claws now back into hooves, came down at Keaton-

**CRACK!**

-and with a loud sound, he brought his hooves down on Keaton's back, falling right onto his spine. Keaton wanted to scream in pain, but he felt his entire body paralyze the moment the hooves came down on him. His mouth was wide open, trying to let out the scream that just wouldn't go through. His eyes were trained on Velouria, who was laying on the ground in pain. Her head slowly lifted up and looked at him with tears in the corner of her eyes. Keaton tried to move, tried to force any muscle in his body to cooperate with him, but no part of his body seemed to function. He felt Corrin remove himself from his back, slowly walk up to his head and place one of his now transformed claws on top of his head. He felt the claw press down on his head with a tremendous force, pushing his face down into the dirt and gravel, the pressure building against his skull wracking his brain with pain. He focused his blurring vision on Velouria, who had managed to feebly hold herself up and was crying at the sight. He felt tears building in the corner of his eyes, and he shut them at feeling the pressure build to an unbearable amount.

With one last push, Corrin smashed down his hand on Keaton's head, the wolfskin's head finally gave in and crushed under the dragon's claw. Bits of his hair, skin, eyes, skull and brain squished between the long fingers. Lifting his claw up, drops of brain matter and blood dripped down Corrin's fingers onto the ground, joining the mush that laid between the still wolfskin's shoulders.

He trained his sights on Velouria, who sat there frozen, her eyes wide and blank, staring off in a trance and paying no heed to the dragon that was slowly approaching her. The sight of watching her father's death in front of her had completely broken her. It didn't matter to Corrin. If anything, it just made her less of a hassle. Grabbing her neck, he could see that was definitely the case.

* * *

Humming a small tune to herself, Midori finished gathering the last of the herbs she needed and placed them in her bag. She ended up having to travel farther than she intended, but it was well worth it to get these herbs. With everyone putting in so much work to trying to find Corrin and the mysterious killer, she saw that many of the soldiers were looking very stressed, tense and tired. With this herb, she could brew a tea that would help their muscles relax and allow them to sleep more peacefully. She wanted to find Corrin and the culprit as much as everyone else, but she didn't want her friends and comrades to overexert themselves. Brushing the dirt off of her knees, she stood up.

" **AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"**

The sudden ear piercing scream shook her to her core, nearly knocking her to the ground as her heart sped up. Even though the scream came suddenly and didn't last long, she recognized the voice right away.

She immediately ran off in the direction of the scream, calling out the name in her search, "Velouria! Velouria!!!"

She didn't know what could have happened to have caused that scream, but if something was wrong and Velouria was in trouble, she had to do something. Running through the forest in search of her friend, she slowed down when she caught a strong, overwhelming smell and the light growls that rang throughout the forest. After a few seconds, she was able to identify the scent. Blood. The growling seemed to also be growing slowly louder and the rustling of leaves slowly came in. Feeling a horrid fear, Midori wasted no time in turning around and running as fast as she could in the opposite direction of the sounds and smell. She didn't know what was it she heard, but being this far into the forest and being severely unequipped, she knew she wouldn't be able to put up much of a fight if what she heard was an animal. So she focused on running. Running as far and as fast as she can away from the sounds. But it seemed like no matter how fast she ran, she wasn't getting any further away from it. The sounds just kept getting louder, the smell getting stronger. She felt like at any moment she would be caught, but every time she looked over her shoulder, nothing was seen following her. But it didn't make the fear go away, it just made her more tense. They were getting louder and louder, like it was right behind her. She looked behind her again to see if it was coming, but her lack of focus on what was in front of her caught her off guard. In the time she spent to look back, she had reached the edge of a small cliff leading into a ditch and ran right off it. She screamed as she tumbled down to the bottom. Once she felt herself on solid ground, she slowly picked herself up and looked around. The ditch she was in wasn't too large and the edge of the cliff wasn't too steep for her to climb, and she saw that her bag hadn't fall too far from her. But when she tried to move, she felt a sharp pain come from her lower body. Looking back, she saw that the fall had caused her right ankle to twist almost completely around. It was hard to tell if it was broken, but the pain was unbearable. She couldn't move her leg at all without feeling the pain from the massive sprain. She laid back down and focused on calming herself, steadying her breathing, trying to get herself back in check so she could think of a way to get herself out of the ditch. But she was so focused on herself, she didn't notice the heavy footsteps and low growling coming closer until she felt it right next to her. She opened her eyes and saw the large legs next to her and looked up to see Corrin standing over her. Any sense of relief was instantly replaced with fear and shock at seeing his large intimidating stature and the fresh drops of blood on his face and fangs dripping down onto her.

Before Midori could say anything, Corrin reached down and grabbed Midori by her legs with his mouth, his fangs digging into her sprained ankle, making her scream in pain. He paid no heed to her and began to drag her along the ground as he climbed up the cliff. Midori was unable to move from her position, and the constant pain from her ankle made the whole ordeal worse as she was carelessly dragged along the ground, dirt, mud and gravel staining her clothes and skin and the rocks that littered the ground poking into her with each drag. Corrin continued to drag her once they were out of the ditch and into the forest. Midori had given up trying to fight and focused on her surroundings. They were moving deeper into the forest and soon nothing covered her surroundings except for large thick trees. That's when Corrin stopped. At first she was expecting him to put her down, but instead he picked her up more, his large stature allowed him to easily lift her small body and dangle her upside down off the ground. She tried to look up at the dragon, but before she could get a good look, the dragon quickly whipped his head to the side, slamming Midori's tiny body against one of the massive tree trunks.

Midori screamed as the massive blow rang throughout her bones, but her scream was cut off as he slammed her against another tree. Then another, and another; he just kept slamming her against any tree that was close to him, not giving her anytime to rest or get a sense of the pain. Midori felt each bone in her body snapping and breaking with each impact, her arm had been bent backward after she attempted to stop one of the impacts by holding her arm out. At that she really did scream, her shout not being dulled by the repeated impacts.

"...AHH-it...it hurts….AHH-please...please stop…"

Her feeble voice fell on deaf ears as the dragon continued to slam her body. On one particular slam, he focused primarily on her legs, slamming her knees on it and snapping them back with a loud crack. Midori screamed out again, her voice echoed through the woods but didn't deter the dragon. He just continued on, slamming with tremendous force. Midori found her consciousness fading with each slam landing on her head, her brain rattling around her skull as her ears rang and her eyes watered.

"Please...please stop it, please...please, help…help…father…"

Her low whines and fractured breathing caught in her throat for a moment, before she mustered up the strength to scream.

"FATHEEERRR! FATHEEEEERRRRR! PLEASE HELP! MAKE HIM STOP, MAKE HIM STO-" _**CRACK!**_ "hCK GUH Hnn HCK…"

Her screaming was choked off as he slammed her particularly hard against her chest, and she felt a sharp pain run through her torso as one of her ribs broke and impaled one of her lungs, any sounds she could make were gurgled coughs as blood spilled from her mouth. He continued to slam her around, making sure every part of her body was struck and every last bone was cracked and shattered. At some point the pain of it all made her lose consciousness, and she silently thanked the Gods for finally giving her some peace and respite from the dragon's attack.

Thanking them for finally making it end.

With one last slam powered by all his strength, he finally stopped. He hung the shattered and horribly disfigured form from his mouth before dropping her to the ground, her body twisted and bent in ways that no person could withstand, her red pigtails tangled and disheveled and blood and bits of white like rice poured from the side of her slightly opened mouth. He took a moment to catch his breath from the act before silently trudging off.

Off into the direction he was originally going.


	5. Chapter 5

The silence that surrounded Castle Krakenburg was almost deafening. Nights within the castle usually are known for being silent, but with the recent string of murders and now knowing that some members of their army have yet to return, the silence is filled with tension and fear. With each minute passing, it seemed to grow stronger, and anyone who dared to come near the castle would likely be filled to the brim with an intense sense of uncomfortable danger. The only constant noise that sounded around the castle was the hoof steps that slowly made their way towards the castle entrance.

Silas and Sophie finished making their rounds patrolling the castle and made their way to the entrance, Silas keeping his stead at a slow steady pace as he watched Sophie do everything she could to keep Avel under control. He could even hear her softly whispering 'Nice and easy, nice and easy' under her breath.

"You know, you're getting a lot better keeping Avel under control, Sophie?"

She smiled at him, "You really think so?"

"Yeah. Just keep up the good work, okay?"

"I will, thanks!" Her expression grew serious, "Hey, daddy, do you think Corrin is okay?"

"Why the sudden question?"

"It's just, with what happened in that village, and that no ones knows where he could have went or has seen any sign of him, do you think he's alright? I mean, you are his best friend, so you should know more than anyone."

He let out a deep sigh, "I honestly don't know what's going on with him. I can't say I know what he's going through after Niles died, but he's a strong person, he's overcome so much during the war. So, even though I don't know how he's doing or where he is, I have faith that he will return soon, back to his old self again."

Sophie stared at him, deep in thought, "Yeah, I hope he'll come back, too. He was always so nice to everyone and everybody misses him like crazy."

"You're definitely right on that one."

The two paladins reached the entrance, but before they could dismount, Sophie felt Avel suddenly take a step back, "Avel, what's wrong?"

"Something wrong, Sophie?"

"Come on Avel, we we're doing so good!" Sophie reached to run her hand across the horse's neck to calm it, but when she touched it, she felt something, "Huh? Daddy, Avel is shivering."

This confused Silas. It was nowhere near cold enough for the horse to be shivering from the weather. But when he looked over to his own stead, he saw it was in the same condition as Avel, slowly taking a step back, noticeable shivers coming from it and its eyes were widen in horror.

"Daddy, your horse is just like Avel. What's going on?"

"They're afraid of something."

An increasing rustling sound suddenly rang through the air accompanied with the sound of heavy oncoming footsteps. This seemed to be the last the horses could handle. Silas' steed immediately took off and Avel knocked Sophie of his back and ran away as well. Sophie hit the ground hard, landing on her back and groaning in pain. Silas bent down to help her stand, not taking notice of the footsteps coming closer until, once they both stood up, they heard a loud deep growl. They were graced with the presence of Corrin's blood covered dragon form, practically glaring a desire to kill at them. Sophie wrapped her arms tightly around Silas, burying her face into the side of his torso as he stared in disbelief at what he saw.

He couldn't accept that this was Corrin. He couldn't believe that this was truly his best friend. He couldn't believe that someone who was so kind and so against mindless violence and bloodshed was now standing in front of him, body drenched and reeking of blood and looking as though he was ready to pounce on them any moment now. But even if he couldn't accept it, he knew that the dragon was raring to kill them. He had to keep Sophie safe, regardless if the one he was having to fend of was his dear friend. But even with his resolve to fight back, he didn't have much confidence. Since they were on a simple patrol through the castle ground and most of the night guards were already at their post, the only weapon they had to defend themselves was a simple lance he brought, Sophie's lance having been broken due to a fit Avel had when they had first begun their patrol. But he had to make the most of it. At least give her a chance to escape, even if he couldn't stop Corrin in the end.

Even if it meant that he wouldn't be able to get away.

He acted quickly as Corrin pounced at him, fangs wide open to bite. He held out his lance, catching the dragon's mouth. He felt his heels digging into the ground as the dragon attempted to push him down, Sophie trying everything in her power to keep him steady. With her holding him up, Silas quickly removed the lance from the dragon's mouth and stabbed it into his left shoulder. Corrin screamed in pain stepped back, trying to remove the lance from him, until Silas removed it and slashed it across the dragon's neck, sending the dragon onto his knees as he tried to maintain himself.

"Sophie, GO!"

He looked back at the girl, watching as she stared at him, eyes widened in horror, before reluctantly letting him go and rushing for the castle doors. But when he looked back towards the dragon, he was met with a large claw hand colliding against the side of his face, knocking him to the ground as two large scratch marks decorated his cheek, nearly ripping it open to the side of his mouth. He heard a scream and saw that Corrin had caught Sophie, holding her in a large claw hand as she squirmed to try to free herself. He quickly stood up, lance in hand, and rammed it into the back of the dragon's right shoulder, making him growl and turn around to the knight. The hand holding Sophie slammed to the ground, ceasing her relentless struggling, as the other grabbed the lance and pulled Silas forward. The dragon slammed his head against the males, knocking him back and off balance. Corrin took this moment to pull the lance from the male's hand and throw it away from them before he grabbed the man by his neck and threw him against one of the pillars that aligned the castle entrance. Silas hit the stone pillar face first before he landed on the ground. The only thing he could comprehend was the unbearable pain flowing through him. He spit up blood from his bruised and cut lips, he could feel blood dripping down his head from a large split on his forehead. The pain raking through his brain made his ears ring and his consciousness blur, but even with that, he could faintly hear the sound of screaming and a sickening sound before the screaming cut off. He tried to lift his head up to look, but his neck was immediately grabbed by a large blood covered claw and pushed onto his back as the dragon loomed over him. He gripped onto the dragon's hand and managed to crack his eyes open to see the dragon looking down at him, his claw hand tightening more and more around his thin neck. He was able to cast his glance away from the dragon, looking for any sign of Sophie, and, behind the large dragon looming over him, he saw her. Or at least the top half of her, as her lower half had been savagely ripped off and flung away a few feet from her. Her glazed over and empty eyes were staring in his direction but were not looking at him. He felt his heart drop at the sight and his gaze was locked back onto the dragon, feeling the hand around his throat continue to tighten. He wanted to scream, fight back against the dragon.

But he couldn't.

Not because the hand was holding him down too tight for him to move, he still had feeling in his body and could still breathe enough to control himself. So, why couldn't he find the strength to fight back? Honestly...he doesn't even know himself.

Maybe the same disbelief that made him refuse to believe that this was reality made him freeze solid. Perhaps he just didn't have the strength to continue to fight with his injuries, making his body lock up and just give in. Or it could have been that seeing Sophie's dead body made him lose all will to fight knowing that he failed to protect her.

Whatever it was, he was unsure of. All he could do was just lay there and tighten his grip on the dragon's arm as the claw hand tightened more, beginning to block off his airwaves as he gasped for any air he could take in. The lack of air in his lungs made his focus slip, not being able to feel any strength in his body, his vision blurry but able to see the dragon's head move down as he felt a sudden faint yet stinging pain against his abdomen. The pain was there, but not enough to make him scream, partly because he could barely breathe as is and because he had lost feeling in his body with each passing second the claw squeezed his throat. But he was glad he couldn't feel anything. He didn't want to feel the pain, he didn't want to feel the torture of his failure. He just wanted it to end.

_'At least like this...I can die peacefully…'_

Silas thanked that he couldn't feel any pain, for if he could, he would have felt the dragon's fangs ripping through armor and cloth to his flesh, eagerly ripping off piece by piece, making his way into the man's insides, ripping through the organs and still continuing on. At some point, he felt Silas' hands let him go and fall limp onto his body, but he paid it no heed as he continued to dig his way through the man's stomach, finally coming to a stop once he had managed to rip apart the skin of his back, having now successfully managed to separate the man's torso from his legs, much like Sophie, but in a much more brutal fashion. He finally released the man's neck, now covered entirely in long dark blue marks that perfectly painted the dragon's fingers. He stood back up, blood dripping down from his fangs, the taste deep in his mouth. As usual, the euphoric feel of the kill rushed through him, panting heavily like a deprived and starved beast. Hungry and thirsty for _more._

A sudden scream made his whip his head to the castle door, where, standing in the doorway, Mozu stood, frozen, eyes wide in fear and disgust. Like a wild animal who caught sight of his next prey, Corrin turned towards her and wasted no time to pounce on her. But Mozu wasted no time and closed the castle doors, holding herself against them with all her might as she felt the dragon bang on the doors, attempting to get in.

"SOMEONE, PLEASE! HELP!"

"Lady Mozu!"

Some of the guards who were stationed close by immediately rushed to the door, helping Mozu keep back the creature that was desperate to get inside. The banging of the dragon grew stronger and stronger, causing more of the nearby guards to come and try to help her keep the doors closed. Eventually, the banging coupled with Mozu's desperate screams for help had caused the royals and their retainers to draw near.

"Mozu, what's going on?"

"Lord Xander, we have to get everyone and run!"

"But why? What happened?"

"I saw Corrin out there, but...he's much different now! I saw...he killed Silas and Sophie!"

"What?!" Effie felt her heart sank at the news. She was ready to burst outside and break Corrin in half before Mozu stopped her.

"Effie, please don't! I know you're strong, but Corrin looked absolutely savage. I don't want to see you die, too!"

The guards looked back at the royals, "Milord, you have to take your family and friends and find a safe place to hide. Let us keep this beast at bay while you find safety."

"We can't leave you here!" Mozu tried to reason with them, "If we do, he will kill you! We can't let you die just so we can run!"

"The life of the royal family holds far more value than any of our lives. You all must find your friends and flee with your lives. Let our sacrifice be made knowing that we fulfilled our duty."

The determined look on the guards made their hearts feel heavy and hurt at the same time.

"Very well. But know that your actions shall never be forgotten."

Almost forcing themselves to run, the group turned tail and ran down the hall as fast as their legs could take them. They quickly searched every room they could, warning every one of their friends of the impending danger that was trying to break its way inside. At first the panic took some time to set into each ally they warned, but once the loud sound of the castle door being shattered open, a loud dragon roar and the screams of the guards rang through the hallways, the dire situation was made plainly clear, and there was no hesitation as each soldier did their best to race down the hall to escape the oncoming danger. They were completely unprepared to face against this threat. Xander, Leo and Camilla were always prepared in case they were attacked, the princes carrying their sacred weapons and the eldest princess carrying a tome for quick efficiency. But in a time like this, their first priority was to ensure that their fellow friends, family and companions were safe. And they were not nearly prepared to face against one who has likely taken so many lives. So they had to keep running. But hearing the heavy footsteps coming from down the hall, they rushed to reach the end with all their might. The sight of one of the doors leading into one of the main rooms gave them the energy to keep rushing. Once they reached it, the royals quickly opened them and allowed for the others to make their way through, making sure that everyone made it safely through before they went through the door. But as they finally closed it, they were nearly pushed back when something slammed into the door like a battering ram. Xander and Camilla pushed against the door with all their might as the sound of the dragon growling on the other side rang through the air as he threw his body against the door, trying to get through.

Xander looked back at the others, whose eyes were already being filled with fear and panic, "Everyone! You need to keep going!"

"No!" Elise shouted, "We're not going anywhere without you two!"

"Elise, please-"

"We said we're not going anywhere!" Selena screamed, cutting Camilla off, "There's no way you'll be able to get away from that thing in time! We're not going to run away with our lives while you throw away yours!"

"Then what are we supposed to do?!" Forrest shouted, holding tightly onto Leo's back, "We don't have anything to fight back with, and we can't just stand here and wait for Corrin to stop!"

Hearing the words of the frantic boy, Ophelia held tightly onto her father, looking up at him with tears daring to fall down her bright eyes, "Father, you said we were chosen ones, meant to bring peace and never fall to a threat. Then...why are we going to die? Has fate decided that our legacy is meant to end here? To end so early?"

"No, no. Our time to end is nowhere in sight. We will escape this," Odin consoled her, just barely holding back his own fear and panic to cause her less pain.

The royals holding the door closed could see the resolve and will of their fellow comrades slowly grow weaker and weaker, being replaced with desperation and fear of their oncoming doom. They couldn't bear to see them like this, so frightened and helpless, but at this moment, they were too vulnerable and under too much pressure for any rational thinking and strategic planning to go through their mind. All they could focus on was keeping the dragon from breaching through.

As the eldest royals continued to hold the doors shut, they were suddenly pushed away from the door and a different barricade was put up. In the time they were struggling to stay strong and the others felt their resolve breaking, Gunter had ripped off one of the hangers holding the curtains over the nearest window and jammed it between the door handles, keeping them sturdily shut.

"Gunter, what are you doing?"

"Milord, milady, now is your time to flee," The knight spoke as he tied the two ends of the curtain as tight as he could, keeping the metal bar from slipping out of place, "All of you, go now. I'll keep Corrin back as long as I can."

"But, Gunter," Elise cried out, "If you stay here, you'll die!"

The old man gave the young princess a warm smile, "I have lived and served you all for many years, and I've dedicated my life to ensuring your safety. If I am to die here, I would like to know that in doing so, I've granted you all another day to live. Besides, my time in this world has lasted longer than I could have imagined, and you all still have much to do, much to see and much to learn. So please, do not let my actions stop you from living on."

Xander let out a deep sigh seeing the older man's conviction, before giving a deep smile, "Gunter, I cannot thank you enough for everything you've done for our family all these years. If this is the last time we will see one another...know that your legacy will never be forgotten, my friend."

"That's all I ask, Lord Xander."

"You won't get much progress staying here by yourself."

The sudden voice of the butler caught everyone off guard as Jakob made his way through the crowd and towards the old knight.

"What are you saying, Jakob?"

"With your age and nothing to fight back with, you won't stand a chance against Corrin, especially within this state."

"And you believe you can be of help?"

"I might," He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a simple iron dagger, "It's the only thing I have, but even the smallest of help can make quite the difference."

"So, you'll be staying here to prove yourself?" He gave the younger man a smile.

He smiled back, "You've tried to make the best out of me my entire life. I think it's time I show you just what all your work has done to me, old man."

"But...Jakob..."

Mozu slowly made her way through the crowd and towards him.

"Mozu…"

"Are...are you really going to stay behind? But...but if you stay here...you might not be able to get away...and if you don't, you'll...I-I can't bear to watch you…"

Mozu's words fell down as tears spilled from her eyes. Jakob walked towards her and gently grabbed the sides of her face, making her look at him in the eyes as his thumbs wiped away the trail of tears.

"Mozu...I know what might happen to me. I know that I might not make it out of this. But...I need to do this."

"But...but, why…?"

"Because if I allow this beast to break through and get to you and Dwyer, if I have to watch either of you die...I may as well drop dead myself," His words were strong and filled with care, "If I can give you even the faintest moment for you to find a safe place to escape, that's all I could ask. So please, understand that I'm doing this for you."

Mozu continued to cry until she eventually gave a reluctant nod, "O-Okay…"

He lightly kissed her before pulling her into a tight hug. Her arms wrapped around him in an unbreakable grip, not wanting to let him go. But with the banging and growling of the dragon on the other side of the door growing steadily louder, he made her let go, holding her at arm's length.

"Father…"

The quiet voice of the troubadour cut through the silent air as he slowly walked towards his father, as Jakob slowly released Mozu from his grip and turned towards his son.

"...You're really going to do this?"

"I have no other choice. The safety of you and your mother is far more important than my own," He could see the conflicted look on his son's face, "Dwyer, listen, I need you to do something for me."

"Anything."

He grabbed his face much like Mozu's and looked in his son's eyes, "No matter what happens, I need you to stay strong. Stay strong and keep you and your mother safe. I know you're capable and you have to believe in yourself as much as I do. And, no matter what...don't forget that I love you."

The sincerity of his words nearly hurt the young man, "Why are you saying this now?"

"So I won't ever regret not saying it. I know that I haven't been the greatest father in the world, but that doesn't mean I don't care for you. I want you to remember that."

When he was finished, Dwyer quickly embraced his father just as tight as his mother. Jakob could feel his son's tears soak through his shirt, and he felt like any moment now, he would break down and start crying. But he had to stay strong. In these possible last moments he had with his family, Jakob fought with all his strength to stay strong and keep the tears from becoming visible as he tightly held his son. He lightly kissed his forehead, mated with his brown hair, before reluctantly letting him go. The banging was now deafeningly loud and the metal bar keeping the door shut was beginning to crack.

"Everyone, you have to leave now. We'll hold him off as long as we can."

"It'll be fine. Just go."

The others reluctantly left, running down the hall as fast as they could. Mozu and Dwyer were the last to leave, Mozu having to grab her son's hand to get him to come along, and Jakob watched as the two joined the others, turning at the end of the hall and disappearing from his sight.

"You can still follow after them."

Jakob turned back to Gunter and smiled, "I already said I'm not leaving you here alone. I have far too much to prove."

"Very well. But you better be ready, he's about to break through."

They saw the metal bar was cracking in half, the head of the dragon poking through the slightly opened door and a large dragon claw trying to reach through as his growling became furious.

"I'll do anything to keep him still, so find any opportunity you can to attack."

"I know what I'm doing, old man. Just try not to let your guard slip."

"I was just about to say that."

The two stood, watching as the barricade was breaking more and more, ready to fall apart any moment now. Every muscle on their bodies felt tense, every nerve and hair standing on end as they keep their guard up for any moment the dragon could break through. Their fist were clenched tightly enough to disrupt the blood flow and Jakob didn't even take notice when his dagger dug into his palm, trickles of blood running down the sharp blade. With his entire weight pressed against the doors, Corrin gave one last hard push, breaking the metal bar in half and ripping through the fabric of the curtain.

His patience had grown so thin by this point that he wasted no time attacking them, slamming his claw hand down towards Gunter. He was able to move out of the way, the claw hand slamming hard onto the ground, nearly breaking through the floor. Gunter took this opportunity to grab him by his antlers and slam him to the ground, holding him down by his neck as the dragon squirmed to get back up. Jakob kneeled by the dragon and stabbed his dagger into his neck, a loud roar of pain came from Corrin and his struggling grew more intense. But before Jakob could run the dagger across his neck, the dragon found a way to fight back. Freeing one of his claws from beneath him, he scratched across Jakob's chest, ripping through cloth and skin, causing him to flinch and remove the dagger from his neck. With a whip of his tail, he struck Gunter against the back of his neck, making the old man lose his grip, allowing him to stand and strike back. With his antlers free, he brutally slashed one of them across the old man's face, cutting through his left eye, and slashed across his chest, knocking him away. With his back now to Jakob, he kicked him with his back legs, hitting him in his chest and sending him skidding across the floor. As he looked back at the butler, he was stricken on the back of his head with something hard. He turned and saw Gunter holding the broken metal bar that was once barricading the door, not minding the scratch over his eye. He quickly bit down onto the arm holding it, but immediately felt a stinging pain on his tail, looking back and seeing that Jakob had stabbed him. Growing impatient, Corrin bit down harder on the hand, causing him to drop the metal bar, and grabbed Gunter in a claw hand and threw him at Jakob, the smaller man was crushed under the older man's armor. As Jakob groaned in pain, Corrin grabbed Gunter again and threw him against the other side of the room, hitting the door separating the hallways and causing it to break against the impact. Jakob managed to sit himself back up, but before he could move, Corrin attacked, gripping the metal bar in his mouth and struck Jakob across the side of his head, knocking him against the wall. Jakob groaned as he tried to stand himself up. The blow wasn't enough to crack his skull, but he felt like his brain was rattling, stinging his head with an intense pain as blood slowly trickled out of his left ear.

A sudden scream of pain helped him focus, and he saw that Corrin had Gunter pinned down, one of his claws was digging deep into his right arm and his fangs were sunk into his neck. As quick as he could, he threw his dagger at him, aiming for the dragon's neck. But it seemed like he took notice of it, as Corrin removed his fangs from the older man's neck and caught the dagger in his mouth. With a quick flick, he aimed the dagger down and dug it deep into Gunter's uninjured eye, piercing down into his brain. He screamed at the initial pain, but the massive blood loss and damage reduced him to small trembles before he completely stilled and fell limp on the ground. Releasing his grip on the man's arm, Corrin grabbed the dagger with his fangs and pulled it out of the man's skull with a sickening squelch. He looked over to the butler, who had managed to stand up though still leaning on the wall, and with a flick of the head, threw the dagger towards him. Jakob moved out of the way quick enough to avoid it hitting his own skull, though it did scratch against his cheek. But in that moment, Corrin had gotten near him and swiped at his legs with his tail, knocking the butler onto the ground. But as Jakob sat up, before he could even think of his next move-

" **GGKKK!-** Gah- HCk Gll GUH-"

Any sound or action he could make were cut off as Corrin jammed one of his antlers into the butler's mouth, piercing through the back of his head. He felt his entire body freeze and tense up under the pain, his arms still and twitched at his sides, his breath and words being chocked on his own blood. Placing a claw hand on his legs, Corrin tilted his head up roughly, ripping through skull and brain and cutting through the top of his head, the butler falling back to the ground with a hard smack from his cracked head.

The relief and joy from finally being able to achieve the kill made Corrin feel elated, giving him a sense of power that made him feel unstoppable. The others couldn't have gotten too far. He had to catch them.


	6. Chapter 6

The stampede of footsteps echoed throughout the halls as the Nohrian army ran for their lives to escape the dangerous threat that has entered their home. Never once in their life had they been so fearful that their end may come, so frightened that any moment now they could be killed. But they had the smallest sense of hope knowing that two of their friends were keeping the monster chasing them at bay. But they were also filled with horrid regret and anguish, knowing that they essentially sent those two very friends to their doom. They tried to hold on to the hope that they would come back and rejoin them soon, but the crazed look of Corrin made it very hard for that hope to last more than a couple of seconds. How could they just leave them behind? How could they just allow them to walk into their own deaths? In a time where they are fighting to survive, there main priority should have been to keep them all alive, yet they just allowed two valuable friends and family members to sacrifice themselves like animals to the slaughterhouse. With this horrid action, Xander, Camilla, Leo and Elise swore to themselves to do anything in their power to keep any more lives from being lost, from breaking any more hearts or destroying any more families.

Right now, they focused on locating a safe haven for them to escape to and plot a way to fight back against Corrin. They ultimately decided to head to the lowest floor; on the bottom ground of Castle Krakenburg was a series of courtyards where some of the newly recruited soldiers trained. There, they could corner the dragon and stop him while the remainder of the army could remain safe. They focused on guiding their units down the winding stairs and halls of the castle, making sure that everyone kept up with the group and making sure every door they went through was firmly shut, if it only meant that they could stall Corrin for just a few more moments. Though they hadn't heard any sign of him approaching, with no sound of heavy footsteps or growling being heard over the sound of them running, they couldn't afford to take any risks. Anything to just put a little more distance between them and the one that was out for their blood.

Noticing that several of their allies were becoming exhausted from the endless running, they allowed the group a short rest along one of the paths that connected the many towers of the castle, exposed to the cool night air and the dark blue sky filling their view up above. Due to a constant worry they always had whenever they had to cross these paths for many years, they had set up metal gates on the edges of the path that wrapped up and around the path like a cage, the gaps were kept small to keep any threat from entering the castle and keep anyone from carelessly falling off the edge. They firmly shut the door leading on to the path and allowed this moment of safety to give some of their allies a chance to catch their breath.

"Lord Xander...tell me, how much longer...do we have to keep going?" Charlotte asked over her heavy panting.

"Not much farther, Charlotte. Take a look," Xander guided her to the gate covering the edge, the courtyards could be seen not far down below where they were standing, "We're nearing the lowest level, we just have to keep running a little while longer."

She let out an angered sigh, "This is so frustrating! This monster is chasing us and all we can do is just run!"

"Charlotte, you cannot let this get to you. We are only doing what's best, the only thing to ensure we all survive."

"But still, this is your brother we're talking about! Someone who always acted like an angel, and now he's trying to kill us! Are you not the least bit affected by this? Aren't you upset that your brother, who isn't even your real brother, is trying to kill us like some rabid beast?!"

"Charlotte," Camilla spoke, trying to calm the blonde down, "We hate this just as much as you do. We hate that our sweet brother has turned into...this. We know that you're hurt by this-"

"Hurt?! I feel downright BETRAYED! I befriended him, I trusted him, I fought at his side no matter what. And how does he repay everything I did, everything all of us did?! He's trying to kill us all!" Rage filling her every being, Charlotte walked back to the gate and screamed out into the vast night air, "You damn horrid beast! We did everything for you, we helped you through everything, we put our faith and trust in you! And THIS is what you do to us?! You pay back our kindness with death?! You are no noble prince, you are no kindhearted soul, you are no bringer of peace; you aren't the man you used to be! You are **NOTHING!** Just try to show your wretched face to us! I'll beat every bit of our pain into you until you beg me to stop! I'll make you feel my pain, so just try to come here! I'll make you suffer! YOU HORRID MONSTER, I HATE YOU!"

In the midst of Charlotte's screaming, no one heard the door to the path above them open until the sound of the metal gate above broke and Corrin jumped down below, gripping onto the gate, holding himself up along the side of it. He quickly reached one of his claw hands through the gap in the gate and grabbed Charlotte by her torso and pull her forward against the gate. She screamed when she realized that he was trying to pull her through the small gap, the muscles in her shoulders, thighs and neck screaming in agony as they were pulled back with intense force. Benny quickly rushed behind her and grabbed her waist, trying to pull her back as one of his hands worked to try and remove the dragon's grip. But Corrin was not willing to tolerate someone disrupting his kill. His head and neck easily slipped through a different gap as he bit down on Benny's head, the two fanged teeth on his mouth piercing through both his eyes. Benny screamed at the pain as his vision was blinded, his attention now focused on trying to release the dragon from him, but his jaw was locked with so much force that left the man's struggles in vain. With Benny out of his way, Corrin focused his attention on Charlotte, his grip on her tightening as he continued to pull her through the gap against her body's will. The skin around her limbs and neck were beginning to tear against the metal bars, the strain against her bones was excruciating as she struggled to scream against the pressure being applied against her throat, her limbs slowly being bent in an unnatural way, slowly breaking loose. Once his grip was at his fiercest, Corrin pulled as hard as he could, her skin and limbs finally breaking under the pressure, as he finally pulled her torso through the gap, her limbs and head breaking off her body and fell to the ground with a hard slap as her blood pooled from her decapitated head and puddled around her broken limbs and stained her golden blonde hair crimson red.

Corrin uncaringly discarded her torso to the ground below as he now focused his attention onto Benny. He climbed on top of the gate and pulled Benny up, seamlessly lifting him off the ground as he brought his head back and pulled the man's head through the gap, his armor keeping his body trapped on the other side. But Corrin continued to pull regardless, the skin on his neck beginning to tear. With one hard jerk, Corrin pulled his head back, the force pulling Benny's head right off his body with most of his spine still connected to it, his body falling to the ground like a rock as Corrin threw his head to the ground below just like he did with Charlotte's torso.

The sight of the quick massacre of two of their comrades sunk into everyone like knives and more than a little panic entered everyone's eyes.

"RUN!"

They wasted no time as they immediately bolted down the path, but looked back and saw one was not moving an inch.

"Ignatius!"

His back was towards them, but if they could see him, they would see there was no chance of saving him. His face had paled and his eyes were empty and vacant, the eyes of someone lost in a trance, his mind so buried in despair that no voice could reach him. No one could save him. Watching the death of his parents right in front of him had broken any sanity he'd been holding onto from the moment the dragon broke into the castle, and there was no possibility of salvaging the man he once was. His frozen state left him primed for Corrin as he walked across the gate to where the young man was and stabbed his tail down, piercing through his forehead and out the other side of his head. With a harsh jerk, he pulled his head effortlessly off his body just like his father and flicked it off his tail and onto the ground.

Realizing it was too late, they focused their strength on running away from their assailant, Corrin chasing after them as he ran along the top of the gate. He was able to quickly catch up to them very quickly as he tried anything to grab his next victim, swiping his claws and tail down at them, even using his mouth to try and snatch one of them up. They had remain wary of where the dragon was aiming, moving out of the way of his swipes and ducking beneath his bites. With each time he aimed towards them, there hearts nearly came to a halt and the stench of blood filled their senses. With each try, he came closer and closer to nearly grabbing one of them and the panic grew.

"Everyone, stay calm! We're nearing the end, just a while longer!"

Xander was so focused on calming his comrades down, that he didn't notice that Corrin had caught up to where he was, and that his jaw was reaching down to grab him-

"LORD XANDER, LOOK OUT!"

-until Laslow suddenly pushed him with all his might, saving the prince from the dragon's grasp.

But being caught in it himself. He felt the dragon's fangs dig deep into his shoulder before he pulled him up, his thin body easily slipping through the gap and Corrin slammed him onto the cage, his fangs digging into the skin and meat of his shoulder.

"FATHER, NO!"

Laslow looked down at his daughter through the bars, his expression wracked in pain as he tried to hold the dragon off as long as he could, "Soleil, you have to run! You have to keep running!"

"Laslow!"

"Lord Xander, please, look after Soleil! Please, you have to go now! Please, just g- **AAAAAHHHHHHHH!"**

His words were cut off by his screams as the dragon sunk it claw deep into his stomach, slowly and painfully moving down and ripping through his insides, his blood falling down from the bars like rain. The sight became too much for them and they rushed to the door at the end of the path as fast as they could, nearly pushing each other aside to get inside the room. Once inside they slammed the door closed and barricaded the door shut. Once done, all of them found themselves unable to move as the only sound that rang through the air was Laslow's unbridled screaming coming from the other side of the door. All they could do was stand and listen, some trying to cover their ears to keep the sounds out, until the screams slowly and surely died down and eventually stopped, the sound of spilling liquid faintly running throughout the air. The silence was cut off as Soleil started to cry loudly, collapsing onto her knees where she was standing as she buried her face in her hands and double over onto the ground. Her anguish filled cries entered every crack of the large room and the others found themselves unable to approach her. What could they do? What could they say? What action could they even make that would help her feel better? What comfort could they give help her ease the pain she was feeling?

With a deep sigh, Ophelia slowly made her way to the crying girl. Kneeling down in front of her, she lifted the girl from the ground and embraced her in a warm hug, Soleil wrapping her arms around the others shoulder as she cried into her neck.

"My friend, I truly am deeply sorry. I'm sorry the shadows of despair chose to haunt you. I wish I could find a way to lift the pain and erase your grief."

"T-Thanks, but it's no use trying to help! That thing killed father, and it probably killed mom and Shigure, too!"

Hearing her words made that growing feel of dread within everyone grow. With all the death they witnessed before them, with the way Corrin was now, and with the recent string of events happening recently...it made it harder and harder for them hold onto the hope that this wasn't really happening.

Xander spoke up, hoping to reignite the spirit in his allies, "Everyone, this is why we need to keep moving forward. All this senseless death, all this unwarranted heartbreak, we're the only one who can stop this. We cannot allow what we see overtake us, for it's not what our allies would want. We have to survive for them, and we have to bring this massacre to an end."

The words of the prince slowly seemed to invigorate everyone, slowly erasing the pain, fear and doubt from their expressions. Even with everything that they had bore witness to, all the damage and death the once caring prince had caused, if they couldn't stop it here and now, it would just spread. More innocents would needlessly die, more panic and fear would become widespread, and fewer would have the strength to want to bring a stop to this endless nightmare. They were the only hope for their kingdom, and they wouldn't allow anyone else to feel their pain. With the determined look painting everyone's features, even Soleil, who slowly stood up and wiped the tears from her eyes, Xander couldn't help but smile.

"Thank you, everyone. Now, we must keep going. We're nearing the courtyard."

Everyone nodded and were ready to continue on.

But a sudden loud metal bang came from the other side of the door, and with one slam, the door flew open, breaking off of its hinges and shattering the wooden barricade into pieces. Flora, who had been closest to the door when it flew open, was knocked against the ground from the force. But before she could stand up, Corrin immediately descended upon her and dug his claw hand into her, digging deep into her flesh before he pulled back, ripping off a large portion of her chest and her bottom jaw, tearing off the skin of her neck. His claw holding her jaw, flesh and some bits of her lungs and heart.

"FLORA!"

Felicia screamed, her hands covering her mouth as the sight of her mangle twin nearly made her want to vomit. Flora shakily casted her gaze up to her sister, choking blood spilling from what remained of her mouth before she stilled, her glazed eyes staring up at Felicia. The panic had once more returned to everyone's features, and they immediately focused their attention on trying to get to the nearest door in the room. Corrin quickly rushed to the nearest person he could get to, the closest prey for him to kill. And the closest to him was Forrest. As the boy tried to run away, Corrin quickly approached him and slashed at him, his claw hand hitting his back and knocking him to the floor. Three long scratch marks covered most of his back and Forrest saw the shadow of the dragon loom over him and his fanged mouth come down towards him. Leo saw the display, but didn't have the time to grab Brynhildr and ready a spell; all Forrest could do was brace himself for the pain.

But it was pain that never came.

So caught up in preparing for the kill, Corrin didn't hear the sound of something flying towards him. Thus, he didn't notice the javelin coming towards him until it struck, ripping through one of wings and tearing a large piece off. Corrin stumbled back and practically screamed in pain, giving Forrest a chance to get away as he quickly ran from his spot and into his father's arms. Corrin doubled over, his torn wing at his side, as he tried to suppress the pain. He looked up when he heard footsteps coming near him, and he saw Siegbert slowly approaching him, lance in a fierce grip and rage burning in his eyes like fire.

"Do not get any closer to us, you monster. I don't care if you used to lead us, I'm not letting you harm **one more person!"**

Everyone found themselves frozen at the display, and seeing someone usually so calm and collected as Siegbert showcase such raw anger.

"Siegbert-"

"Father, get everyone out of here and make sure Forrest is alright. I'll keep him back until then."

Siegbert focused his attention back on the dragon, watching as he stood up, fangs and wings bare as he roared at him, shaking the room. But Siegbert kept his resolve strong and his fear at bay. Yes, he was afraid. He was afraid that he walked himself into a challenge he wouldn't be able to accomplish and that his worry for the safety of his cousin had gotten to him and made him act out of pure instinct. But too many innocent lives had been taken by this beast, and he refused to just sit back and watch it take another.

Siegbert took the first moment he could to strike when he saw Corrin charge at him, fangs beared in a horrid grimace, and struck him in the neck. Corrin had to step back to keep the spear end from piercing further into his neck, but this left him open as Siegbert moved to stab him in his left arm, knocking him to the ground. He stabbed the dragon anywhere he could strike, his stomach, his arms, his legs, his tail; anything he could aim for to keep the dragon from being able to stand back up and go near the others. The stab wounds never got deep, but they were enough to inflict pain on him. The others watched for a quick moment as Siegbert fought off the dragon with near expertise before they worked their way through the door and continued their trek to the lower floor. Elise had decided to lead the others so Xander could stay with his son. The other royals were making sure that each person safely got through and were a far distance from the dragon. But as they watched the others flee, their attention was brought back to Siegbert when they heard him scream in pain. At some point, Corrin had managed to stand up and bite deep into Siegbert's left arm. He was trying to claw at him, but the lance was pierced into one of his claw arms, pushing it back with intense force and keeping it away from his figure, causing Corrin to use his other arm to keep his balance as he focused on keeping his bite strong on the young prince's arm. It was only when he felt the lance pierced so deep into his arm, so much that it completely passed through his arm, that he grew restless and enraged. Summoning an incredible strength, Corrin pushed his pierced arm against the lance enough to rest on the ground as his other arm came up and grabbed the prince by his neck. Feeling his fangs sunk in deep, enough that he could almost feel the bone, he pulled with great force and ripped the arm clean off. This time, Siegbert really did scream, dropping the lance as he backed away from the dragon, gripping his left shoulder as his fingers hovered over the bleeding torn stump where his arm once was. His eyes were tightly shut, trying to withstand the throbbing pain that shot through his left shoulder and throughout his torso, but they flew open when he heard something break. He saw that Corrin turned his claw back into a hoof and stomped down on the lance, smashing the base in half as he slowly stalked towards him, nearly able to see rage burning where his eyes would normally be.

But he didn't get very close to the prince. From beneath him, a powerful surge of magic shot up from the ground, large tree branches shooting up, one piercing a part of his stomach and the others leaving long deep scratching along his midsection and limps. He didn't even have time to react before he was hit face first by a blast of electricity, then another hit his neck, and soon more were hitting each part of him, knocking him and clouding his vision with dust and rubble from the attacks that missed him and hit the ground. He didn't notice the figure rushing up to him until it was right in front of him. Xander, holding Siegfried as it burned fiercely in his hand, slashed across the dragon's chest, knocking him back with such great force that he broke through a nearby window and fell to the ground below, his roar silently fading into the quiet night.

With the dragon no longer present in front of them, everyone let out a sigh of relief before Xander immediately rushed to his son and a sudden voice rang in the air.

"SIEGBERT!"

From the room the others had escaped through, Peri suddenly rushed out and hugged him from behind. She immediately noticed his missing arm and tears ran down her face like a waterfall, "Oh my! Oh my! Siegbert, are you okay?! Please tell mommy the truth!"

"D-Don't worry, mother. I'm f-fine," He brought his slightly blood covered hand to hold one of his mother's hands around his torso, trying his best to keep his voice in check despite the pain running through him.

"Siegbert, your arm…"

"It's alright, father," The prince spoke, looking up at his father, who stood in front of him and seemed so conflicted to touch him, "If anything...I'm glad this is all I ended up losing."

A soft smile grew on face and he reached out to hug him, his arms gently resting on Siegbert's shoulders to avoid causing any further pain and his chin rested in his hair, softly thanking the Gods over and over in his head that his son was still alive.

"We really are glad you are okay, sweetie," Camilla and Leo walked over to them, "You did an amazing job."

"Thank you."

"But we should probably join up with the others," Leo spoke, "They might be worried about us. And besides, it's not over yet. He not going to give up yet."

"You're right, let's go."

The five made their way through the door and followed after the others, keeping their face fast yet steady, keeping Siegbert from overexerting himself and relishing in the peace of comfort knowing that they were safe for the time being.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be busy for the next few days, but once I get back, I'll be sure to post the next chapter right away.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've finished my business, and I'm back to bring a new chapter as we draw near the end.

“Percy, are you sure Ace will be able to hold both of us?”

“I’m not too sure, but this is the only way we’ll be able to get in. We may as well try.”

Arthur and Percy had finished making their rounds around the castle grounds, their search for any signs of Azura and Shigure had proved to be unfruitful. They headed back near the front entrance, at first wanting to wait for Keaton and Velouria to come back from their search and see how things faired for them, but they waited for several minutes and no sign of them. They figured that they likely already managed to find them and already headed inside. But when they went to the front door to head inside, it was shut tight, a large mass keeping it shut. They tried knocking to get someone to open it, but no one showed up. Perhaps they closed the doors for the night but were unaware that they were still outside. So they had to find another way in. Normally, Percy would have Ace fly him to one of the paths that connected the towers, but with the newly enforced gates, that was no longer possible. Granted, he could easily fit his small body through the gap, but he wasn’t so sure about his father. So the only option they had was to fly to the lowest floor of the castle and enter through the courtyards. They were always open as many of the guards and newly recruited soldiers were always present taining. And the only way to reach them was to have Ace fly them down. Percy was rather nervous and fearful for his wyvern partner. He never had to carry more than the young boy, and he was fearful that having to carry both him and his father would be too much. But as they slowly descended down to the lowest floor, the wyvern seemed to be doing fine, so Percy made sure he flew down at a slow steady pace to keep him from overexerting himself.

“You’re doing great, Ace,” The young boy spoke, soothing his wyvern into a calm state by rubbing the back of his neck, “Just a little further down.”

The slow descent to the lowest floor seemed to stretch on for longer than it seemed, the view of the castle being the only sign that they were making progress. And, after many minutes, they finally landed on soft grass floor that encircled the stone floor of the courtyards. The two dismounted the wyvern as Percy reached around to face his steed, “Are you okay, Ace?” The wyvern nodded, slight pants coming from it, “It’s okay. If you’re feeling tired, you can sleep in my room tonight. I don’t think the guards will mind, will they, pop?”

“As long as you keep him close by, I’m sure they will understand.”

“I sure hope so,” Percy figured this would be the best time to bring something up, “But, it’s really strange. When we were flying down here, I didn’t see anyone, not even any of the night guards. In fact,” He stopped for a moment as he listened, “I don’t even hear anyone right now.”

“I know, it’s awfully quiet.”

The silence that rang through the air was near maddening, the only sounds occupying was the faint wind and breathing of the wyvern.

“And the front doors usually don’t lock this early. Do you think it’s because they saw...that?”

“I don’t know,” Arthur’s face twisted in disgust as Percy brought back that memory.

They had been trying so hard not to think about it on the way down, not wanting to bring up that horrid scene. What they witnessed as the rounded to the front entrance of the castle. When they were immediately graced with Silas and Sophie’s dead and mangled bodies. It was a scene straight out of a horrible nightmare, and the grotesque display was enough to cause Percy to wretch at the sight of his dead friend. Even now as he spoke of it, he felt his stomach twisting.

“I don’t understand. What could have happened to them? T-They looked just like…”

“Like the people we found in that village?” The memory of the destroyed village was still vivid in his mind.

“You...don’t think the one who killed all those people got to Silas and Sophie, too? And...maybe Azura and Shigure? Could...could they be inside…” Percy’s words fell as tears spilled from the corners of his eyes, worry and fear consuming him.

Arthur walked up his son, placing hand gently on his son’s small shoulder, “Now, now, Percy. You can’t let your fears take you over. You have to stay strong and have faith that they are all safe.”

“...Y...You’re right...sorry for crying,” He spoke as he wiped the tears that ran down his cheeks.

“There’s no shame in crying, Percy.”

“Not even for a hero of justice?”

“Of course! Your tears show just how much you care for your friends, how much you worry for the safety of others. And that is definitely something to be proud of.”

The worried look on the boys face was slowly replaced with a bright smile, “Thanks, pop.”

“My pleasure. Now, let’s head inside. The others might be waiting for us.”

“Right!”

The two were ready to head into the castle, but before they could take a step, the silence that had been running through the air was broken at the loud sound of glass shattering coming from above them. They looked up and saw the glass window in one of the rooms high above break, shards flying down along with a large white figure they couldn’t exactly make out. They watched as the large figure fell like stone to the ground, crashing on top of one of the trees that grew in the courtyard, snapping it’s trunk straight off as the figure was covered by the mess of branches and leaves.

“WHAT WAS THAT?!” Percy shouted, the force of the figure hitting the ground nearly shaking him down to his knees.

“I’m not sure!”

They watched as the figure shakily picked itself up, ruffling the leaf covered branches covering it before moving it of it’s body, revealing itself to the duo.

“Corrin?”

They saw the dragon form of their friend slowly stand up, limbs covered in deep and wide scratches shaking as he tried to bear the pain. Most of his body was scarred, his own blood dripping off his body, mixing with the other blood that covered him. His wings were folding in and out, trying to repel the force of the fall and tear in one of them. Arthur and Percy didn’t realize it, but they were unconsciously slowly backing away from the dragon as his head looked up at them and a deep guttural growl escaped his mouth. His pain and anger practically seeped into his voice as he slowly closed in on the two ax wielders. Percy looked over and saw that his wyvern was kneeling down, teeth bared in a sharp grimace as it growled at the dragon.

“Ace, what are you doing? Why do you want to attack Corrin?” Ace let out a small roar before it looked back at Corrin and growled deeply at him as he growled back, “Huh?”

“What’s wrong, Percy?”

“Ace is trying to protect us, because...Corrin wants to kill us,” The words hurt the boy's throat as he spoke, “But...why does he want to hurt us? We’re his friends.”

“I don’t know, but we have to stop him.”

“WHAT?!” He looked up at his father with wide eyes, “But, you said heroes never turn on their friends!”

“Yes, that’s true. But, just look at him. If your dragon is right and he really wants to kill us, then we have to stop him. We need to protect all our friends from this new fiend.”

“...Corrin’s our...foe now?” At his father’s nod, he let out a sigh and tightened himself, “OK. If he really is going to hurt us, then we can’t let him get past us and hurt our friends!”

Seeing his son's newfound strength, Arthur quickly drew up his ax and held Corrin back as he pounced on them, his jaw biting down onto the ax. “Percy, look for an opening! I’ll hold him off!”

“Right!”

Ace, now feeling restored, wasted no time as it mounted Percy on its back and flew up. Hovering a few feet above, Percy watched as his father held Corrin back with his ax. He slowly worked to position them over the dragon as Arthur worked to keep him still. Seeing that the dragon was kept motionless, Percy ordered for Ace to drop down, landing on Corrin’s back. He growled in pain when he felt the clawed feet of the wyvern dig into his back and felt it bite down on his neck. Having enough of others interrupting his kill, Corrin took quick action to remove them. Twisting his head, he stabbed one of his antlers into the wyverns eye, making it release its grip on his neck. Before Percy could react, he felt the dragon's tail wrap around his tiny body before he flung him away, his back hitting a nearby tree as he tumbled to the ground. The rough oak struck his spine, sending a wave of pain through his bones. His eyes were shut tight as he tried to bear the stinging sensation that jolted through his body, but when he heard a deep scream, he tried to open his eyes, but having them shut so tight made his vision blurry. But from what it seemed, it looked like Ace had been thrown off Corrin’s back and he had his father pined against the ground. He tried to stand up, but his quick motion sent a harsh ache along his back, making fall back to the floor. He worked on catching his breathe, the sound of pained screaming filling his ears, until he felt the pain dull and fade along with the screams. As he finally opened his eyes properly and sat up, he saw his father was tossed a few feet from the dragon, his back was towards him and a puddle of blood was forming around him. Even with what he saw, Percy knew exactly what happened. Corrin turned his attention towards the young boy, his body turning towards him. But before he could move towards him, Ace pounced on him, its wings flapping violently and its fanged mouth trying to bit into any part of the dragon it could get. But Corrin was quickly able to get an advantage and had the wyvern pinned down, his fanged mouth dug deep into its neck, one clawed hand holding down the thrashing body and the other holding down its head. Corrin lifted the wyverns neck up, his grip on its neck the only part rising, as the rest of its body was bent back against the ground. With one harsh jerk, he snapped the wyverns neck up, bending it at a near perfect angle, and a loud crack echoed throughout the air as he released his grip on its neck and its lifeless body fell to the ground.

“Ace!”

Percy reached back and grabbed one of the broken branches that lies along the ground, and rushed to the dragon. But he didn’t hesitate in the slightest as he clawed at the boy, knocking him back to the ground. He walked over to the front of the boy and picked him up in his mouth, then tossed him into the air. As Percy fell to the ground head first, Corrin caught him back in his mouth, his front facing the underside of his neck and his fangs burying into his gut. Percy screamed as he felt the pointed teeth digging into him, stabbing through his intestines as he felt the fang slowly moving left and right, up and down.

He felt his heart race. It felt like he was devouring him, gnawing on his flesh.

Percy began to thrash and scream, his fist pounding against the wounds on the underside of Corrin’s neck, his legs kicking in every direction as he tried to free himself. But Corrin’s hold on him was tight and his movements only served to make his fangs dig deeper into his tiny gut. Corrin moved his fangs along the boy's stomach, sharp teeth slowly biting off bits and pieces of his flesh, the skin around the boy's stomach falling to the ground like a slab of meat, his blood pouring down onto it. Percy’s screams were being choked off as the damage being done to his insides was causing blood to flow out his mouth, the cool air stabbing his exposed and raw flesh, pricking every nerve of his body. As the skin around his waist was slowly chewed off, falling to the ground with a wet slap, and his own insides started to spill out the edges of his open wound, he mustered up whatever strength he was holding onto and allowed one single thought to enter his mind before he felt himself on the verge of unconsciousness.

_“Sorry everyone...we failed…”_

Thankfully, at that moment, his focus faded, as Corrin reached one claw hand up to grab his legs, and with one pull, separated the two halves of his body, both falling limply onto the ground joining the mess of flesh that was chewed off.

Now feeling himself refreshed from his previous wounds and the pain momentarily gone with his achieved kill, Corrin slowly set off, ready to track the others down. He will find them. He must.

* * *

 

With a sigh of relief, the remainder of the Nohrian army finally managed to reach the lowest level of the castle. Taking shelter in one of the rooms, they shut the door tight and finally found themselves able to breathe and rest peacefully. Many of them nearly collapsed onto whatever chair they were close to, some not even minding sitting on the cold hard ground if it meant they could rest. Now within a safe place, Felicia was doing whatever she could to tend to Siegbert’s injury without the help of her healing staff. She tore off parts of her own dress to wrap around the stump where his left arm used to be and used her ice powers to try to soothe the pain and irritation for now. She offered to do the same for Forrest, but he declined, saying that the state of his cousin’s missing arm was far more important than his simple scratches. Xander silently counted everyone in the room, making sure that they had all made it down safely, before he softly spoke, “We should be safe here for now.”

With this calming sense of reassurance, Forrest walked over to where Siegbert sat, sitting down next to him and gently hugged him around the waist, “Thank you, Siegbert. If you hadn’t stopped him, I would have…”

Not wanting to see him force those words out, Siegbert wrapped his arm around his cousin, being careful to avoid applying pressure on his scratches, “It’s okay. I’m just glad I was able to save you. So many others have fallen, I couldn’t bear to see another.”

“Well, you did great!” Elise said cheerfully, “You and Forrest are both okay, and we’re all safe here! Right, Xander?”

“Yes, Elise, we’re safe now.”

“But it’s not gonna last,” Selena interjected, “He’s not going down just because of one lucky hit. He’s probably looking for us right now.”

“We know, Selena,” Camilla spoke, walking over and sitting between her retainers, “Now that we have a place to rest and think, we have the time to think of what to do next.”

“She’s right,” Leo spoke, “One simply moment of weakness won’t be enough to stop Corrin. We have to plan our next move.”

Peri spoke up, sitting close to Siegbert while patting his shoulder gently, “He looked really weak when you three attacked him. Maybe now we can catch him and lock him away.”

“That won't be able to work,” Xander said, “Even if all of us were to help, we have no means of holding him down. We can’t risk him possibly getting loose with all of us standing a mere arm's distance from him.”

Soleil started to think, “Isn’t there some way for us to return him back to normal? I know mom could probably do it with her song, but…” She stopped herself right there to avoid bringing up those dark thoughts.

“I’m sorry, Soleil,” The prince spoke, his words hoping to give her some comfort, “But we hardly know much of how he controls himself within that state, much less how to return him back to normal. We can’t take any chances just trying random methods and hope that one will work.”

Silence fell over the room as they tried to think of a means to fight back against their old friend. It broke when one voice spoke up. Beruka’s cold, emotionless voice.

“Then we have no choice. We have to kill him.”

“WHAT?!” Many voices in the room shouted at once at her words.

“Beruka, you can’t be serious!” Selena shouted, “We can’t just kill Corrin!”

“Why not?” She asked, unphased by her partners harshness, “He’s caused so much pain, killed so many people. What other form of punishment should he receive other than death?” She looked at each royal as she spoke, “You all think so too, don’t you? You’ve watched him kill others right in front of you, saw all the damage he’s done. Your anger had to have been building from all this. Admit it, you want him dead.”

“Beruka, stop!” Camilla shouted, silencing her retainer, “We know how many horrible things he’s done, but we can’t simply kill him.”

“But why, Lady Camilla?”

“It’s nowhere near as easy to kill him as it is to say it,” She felt her chest tightening just from having to say such words.

“She’s right!” Elise said, tears building in the corner of her eyes, “We can’t just kill our own brother! We...We just can’t!”

“We’ve already had to kill our own father, we don’t want to lose another part of our family,” The younger prince spoke, walking over to Elise and patting her on her shoulder to comfort her.

Beruka saw the stern commitment of each royal as she focused her gaze on Xander, “You as well, Prince Xander? Do you always not want to kill Corrin?”

“Of course,” He immediately spoke with no hesitation, “We have stood by Corrin through everything, we have protected and loved him as family regardless of whatever faced us. We can’t bring ourselves to kill someone who we’ve always kept safe. Besides, in this time of unneeded bloodshed, we can’t let the only means of peace be more unneeded bloodshed.”

Beruka saw everyone nod in agreement to his words before she shut her eyes, “I see. I apologize if I upset you.”

“It’s okay, Beruka,” Camilla comforted her, “We know you were just trying to help.”

Seeing that everyone had calmed down from Beruka’s words, Effie spoke, “Well, then what do we do? We can’t keep running, we can’t stay here too long, and we can’t fight back against him. So, how do we stop him?”

Silence fell back over the room as everyone was deep in thought, trying to think of any reasonable plan that could have a good chance of saving them. Just as things seemed to be looking bleak, Xander broke the silence.

“Odin, Nyx, Ophelia, can you still cast a spell without your tomes?”

“Well,” Nyx answered, “If it was just one person, it would take some time. But if all three of us focus our magic on one spell, we can have it ready with no trouble. What spell do you have in mind?”

“A shield, one that can contain anyone within an area and keep them from escaping.”

“Ha! A mere child act you ask of us, Prince Xander! We can have that spell ready at any moment.”

“You got a plan, Xander?” Leo asked.

He nodded, “It’s not the best move for us to make, but it’s the safest option for us the moment,” He saw everyone's gaze on him, telling him to continue, “There are several training grounds throughout the courtyard, all of which can be locked to prevent anyone from entering inside the castle. We must lock off each training ground, save for one. That will be used to draw Corrin in and trap him within that area using the spell. Once that’s done...me, Leo, Camilla and Elise will enter the training ground he’s in.”

“What?!” Elise shouted in surprise.

“You-You want to go out and confront Corrin?!” Felicia shouted in disbelief.

“Have you lost your mind?” Nyx scolded, “If you get anywhere near him, he’ll tear you to shreds!”

“That’s why all of us will approach him together,” He interrupted them calmly, “Alone, we don’t stand a chance against him. But together...perhaps our words can reach to him, save him from the depths of his insanity.”

“And if we don’t?” Leo asked, “What if we can’t save him there and then?”

“If so, then we fight. Weaken him down to the point he can't move. Then we can properly lock him up and have the time to think of a different strategy.”

“Hmm…” Camilla thought deep about his plan, “It’s not the best decision for us to make. But, it’s the best we can do at the moment. Anything if it means we don’t have to resort to ending him.”

“I like it!” Elise cheered, “And if it works, not only will we not have to fight him, but we would have gotten our brother back!”

Leo let out a sigh, “This sound like we’re walking right into the lion's den, but as long as we know what we’re doing, count me in.”

Seeing all his siblings ready, Xander softly smiled, “Very well. Then we must get to work right away. Odin, Nyx, Ophelia, get started on readying the spell. The four of us will lock off each training ground, save for the one we’ll use to lure Corrin.”

“But what of the remainder of us, milord?” Kaze asked.

“It would be unwise for you all to remain here. You must spread out, hide in every available room you can find, shut each door tight, and conceal yourselfs well. You must be prepared for the worst should Corrin manage to break through and enter inside.”

“Understood!”

With everyone now in agreement with the plan, they went to quick work, ready to end this horrid massacre.

* * *

 

No time was spared to put their plan into motion. The remainder of the army immediately fanned out, occupying each room they came across, barricading each door they passed and secluding themselves as best as possible. Secluding themselves in the shadows of the faded moonlight, taking refuge behind any furniture that was present in the room, any means of keeping themselves from being seen or heard. While they all worked to keep themselves hidden, the royals made quick work to close off each individual training ground. They decided that the largest training ground was the best place for them to lure Corrin into. So once the decision was made, Xander finished closing off many of the training grounds and found the room where Odin, Nyx, Ophelia, Felicia and Siegbert were hiding, letting the dark mages know of where they were meant to cast their spell, which they were ready to execute at any moment. Camilla had finished locking up the remainder of the rooms and took refuge in a separate room, where both her retainers were hidden. The only thing left was to ensure that the remaining training ground was secure and ready for their plan.

That task was left to Leo and Elise, the only royals still at work. They tried to make quick work as they approached the training ground, not only wanting to execute their plan as quickly as possible, but also wanting to get the hell out of there. Leo’s hand was holding Elise’s as they walked; he could feel her hand tightening on his with each passing step, but he didn’t mind it. It was an outlet for her fear, a means of showing just how frightened she was without it breaking her down and making her feel vulnerable. He was afraid as well, likely just as much as she was, but he had to stay strong, keep himself together for both his and her sake. The last thing he wanted to do in this time of impending danger and mindless bloodshed was to cause more pain and panic for his family. So he stuck to gently rubbing his thumb against the back of her hand to soothe her as they walked through the corridor to the last training ground. Finally reaching the door, he carefully and silently opened it, only enough for them to go through, and closed it quietly behind him as they silently walked amongst the grounds, their eyes scanning each tile of ground, looking for any signs of possible hazards that could destroy their entire plan.

“See anything, Elise?”

“No. It’s looks exactly like each one did,” They both kept their voices down, just barely above a whisper, not wanting to draw attention to themselves. “Hey, Leo, look at the floor.”

She pointed over towards what she was talking about, and Leo saw that along the edges of the grounds, magic was quickly forming, circling around the entire premise, and he could sense the power of the magic growing steadily stronger with each second.

“Seems like Odin and the others are readying the spell.”

Elise softly giggled before looking up at her brother with worried eyes, “Leo, do you think we’ll be able to get Corrin back?”

He looked down at her, “Trust me, we’re going to get him back.”

“But...do you think the plan will work? Do you think we can really save him?”

“Even if this doesn’t go as smoothly as we want, we are going to save him. Right now, it’s the only move we can make, so we have to try. But, don’t worry, I promise we’ll get him back.”

She nodded and spoke, “Leo, I want you to promise me something.”

“Of course.”

“Promise me that...you won’t kill Corrin, unless it’s absolutely necessary. And I mean, if anything we can try doesn’t work and doesn’t bring him back, only then is it alright to kill him.”

“Are you sure? You are aware of what you’re asking me, right? Are you sure you’ll be able to handle it?”

“Yeah...it’ll be hard, but...if it can save everyone, then I’ll get through it.”

He stayed silent for a moment before nodding, “OK, I promise. And, like I said, don’t worry, we’ll save him.”

A usual bright smile grew on her face, a sign of her growing reassurance and served as a means of keeping Leo secure and focused on the task at hand.

“Well, everything seems clear. Let’s head back inside.”

She noded and the two turned around to head back inside the castle.

But before they could take a step, they head a sudden sound come from behind them. They quickly turned towards the sound, but found nothing. The sound came again, this time from a different spot, but, again, nothing was seen.

“Elise, stay behind him.”

Elise quickly moved behind him, her small hands holding tightly onto his waist. Leo already had Brynhildr in hand, open and magic already forming around it. He was caught off guard last time, and his carelessness nearly resulted in his son being killed. He refused to make the same mistake again, he couldn’t fail at protecting a loved one again. Magic forming at his hand, his eyes scanned each direction the sounds came from, the slight crunching of grass and low growls kept him on guard. It almost felt like Corrin was teasing him, intentionally drawing the sounds all around him, trying to throw him off and catch him by surprise. But he wouldn’t let him get the best of him, especially with Elise counting on him. The loud sound of something falling caught his full attention, and he wasted no time blasting the area the sound came from with a powerful blast of magic, the floor beneath the blast crumbling from the shock and the area around it was clouded in thick smoke. But there was no sign that he had struck Corrin, not even the smallest growl of pain came.

He suddenly heard Elise scream in fear, but when he turned back to look at her, he wasn’t able to turn back fast enough to fight back as Corrin rushed from the cloud of dust and struck him, a large claw hand hitting his head with tremendous force, knocking him back against the wall of the castle, his head striking hard against the stone wall. He fell to the ground, groaning in pain. His vision swam and head felt like it was burning. He could feel blood running down the side of his head, pain swarming through his body, rattling every nerve on end. It was only when he heard a loud scream that he summoned forth any strength in his body to open his eyes and sit up. What he saw nearly made him freeze. Corrin had Elise pinned down, blood pouring out of the open wound on her stomach, a trail of intestines was partially pulled out, and the dragon's mouth was locked on her head, fangs digging deep into her chin. Her teary eyes looked back at Leo, her hands trying to pull the dragon off her. But before Leo could reach towards his Brynhildr, he watched as the dragon bit down hard on her head, making her scream, before he placed a claw hand down on her tiny chest and, with a tight pull, ripped her head clean off. The sickening sound froze Leo to his core, and he watched as Corrin’s jaw closed down on the girl's head, crushing it like a ripe fruit, broken skull and brains spilling to the ground and lovely blonde locks scattering amongst the ground.

Leo watched as Corrin turned his gaze towards him and slowly stalked towards the prince, but he didn’t move. He couldn’t move. He failed again. Once more, he failed to protect his family. And this time, his failure resulted in his sister's death. Someone he swore to protect and make things right mere moments ago, and she died because of him. The reality of his failure sunk deep into his heart, feeling as though he was slowly and surely being stabbed with a knife, and his body remained frozen as the dragon closed in on him. With the prince a sitting prey, Corrin lunged at him, fangs wide open in a loud roar and claws open to grasp him. But just as he got close, the prince's body was engulfed in a bright white light, and when the dragon hit the spot, his fangs and claws dug into earth and gravel instead of flesh and bone. He let out a frustrated and angry roar that rang throughout the air, shaking the very castle and ground itself.

* * *

 

The bright light shunned throughout the room, Felicia focusing the power of the staff to its fullest as the light dimmed down and the young prince appeared in the room, kneeling down just as he was in the courtyard.

Felicia let out a loud sigh, “Thank goodness I found that staff just in time!”

“But, wait...where’s Elise?!” Camilla, who had come into the room just recently to check on the others, shouted in horror.

“Leo, what’s going on?! What happened?!” Xander kneeled down in front of his brother, noticing the blood coming down his head.

His eyes were wide and within a trance, but when he noticed his brother kneeling before him, it all sank in at once. His lip trembled, his eyes quivered and moistened, and within a second, he collapsed into Xander's arms, his arms tightly wounding around his brother's torso as he cried loudly. Wails of sorrow spilled from mouth and pools of tears spilled down his eyes, soaking into his brother's clothing and running down his armor. Xander was utterly shocked. He can’t remember the last time he’s seen Leo cry. He was always so strong and firm, the most recent memory of seeing him cry was when they were children. It made it so hard to believe that this was really Leo right now. But what mattered was that his brother was suffering, so he wasted no time as he wrapped his arms around the younger prince, rubbing gently against his back as he tried to soothe his unbridled crying.

“Leo, please, tell me what happened.”

Leo tried to suppress his crying as he attempted to speak, “...Corrin...Corrin showed up...a-and...Elise...Elise, Elise s-she-” His voice could barely get a sentence out before his cries choked them off. But what he said was enough to paint the picture. And enough to make everyone’s heart sink.

“Please, no…” Camilla’s voice was a meek whisper, trying to desperately hold herself together.

“No... MOTHER!” Ophelia practically collapsed into tears, Odin holding her form as she cried and he did anything he could to keep himself from breaking down.

Xander watched as every person in the room was succumbing to their sadness, making holding in his own more and more harder. But he couldn’t give in. He refused to allow any more to be affected by this.

“Odin, Nyx, Ophelia! Is your spell ready?!”

“Yes, it is.” Nyx answered as calmly as she could.

“Then cast it right now. Now that he’s there.”

The three dark mages managed to pull themselves together and focused his energy on casting the spell. As they did that, he looked up at Camilla and pulled Leo away from him to look at him.

“It’s time for us to go. We are ending this. NOW.”


	8. Chapter 8

His anger from missing his kill was subsiding. Removing his claws from the ground, Corrin stood up properly before he went to walk away. If some of them were out here, they had to have been close by as well. He didn’t want to let his next prey escape. But as he neared the edge of the training ground, he suddenly walked straight into an invisible wall. He raised his claw and pressed it against the wall, pulses of dark magic moved around his long fingers and wouldn’t give way no matter how hard he pressed. He scratched against the invisible barrier, claws slashing multiple times but giving no progress. Eventually, he rammed his whole body against the barrier. But the dark magic knocked him onto his back, a shock of electricity ran through his body, making him scream out. His anger growing with each passing second, he quickly worked to try and find some way out. His actions being seen by many others.

The remainder of the army, now having joined back together in one room after the sound of Leo’s wailing cries caught their attention, watched from the tinted windows within the room as the dragon ran around the entire premise of the training ground, trying desperately to find some way out as his rage steadily built over time.

“Wow,” Soleil mused, “Your shield is excellent. It’s not breaking one bit.”

“We poured every bit of our magic into this spell. The last thing we want is for him to escape right when we have him,” Nyx replied.

The now remaining princess looked over to Xander, “So, when do we go out?”

“Not quite yet. Let’s wait for him to calm down before we try and reason with him. It’s likely he won’t listen if he’s enraged.”

Silence fell over the room as the group continued to watch the dragon outside, throwing himself against every inch of the wall to find a means of escaping. But it was cut off by a panicked voice.

“Wait,” The voice was Forrest’s, “Where’s father?!”

The panic in his voice was enough to draw everyone's attention as they surveyed the room, noting each person there, except for the younger Nohrian prince.

“W...Where is he? Where did Leo go?!” Panicked fear sank quickly into Nyx’s voice.

“We don’t know!” Selena shouted, “He was here just a second ago!”

“...G...Guys…”

Felicia’s shaky voice drew their attention back to the window where, out in the training ground Corrin was in, they saw Leo walk out the door and briskly walk towards the enraged dragon.

“Father, NO!”

Xander and Camilla wasted no time as they ran out the room and quickly made their way to the training ground as the others continued to stare out the window.

Pure untainted rage painted Leo’s features, his grip on his tome so strong it was wrinkling the pages, as he walked towards the dragon, who hadn’t taken notice of his presence as he was facing away from the prince. It wasn’t until he felt near razor sharp branches lash up behind him, scratching his hind legs and nearly tearing the back of his wings, that he turned around and looked at the prince, standing a mere few feet from him, a deep scornful growl escaping his mouth.

**“You’re not leaving here alive, you monster.”**

Each syllable that left the prince's mouth was laced with poison, and Corrin growled back, murder practically oozing out his voice.

Within a second, Corrin rushed at him. Leo wasted no time as he casted multiple spells within that second, the ground beneath Corrin’s path being decorated in sharp branches. He swiveled his movements to avoid the branches piercing his skin, feeling them slice against his scales, but not enough to stop him. As he drew near, Leo pulled all his magic into one spell. But before he could cast it, the dragon lunged forward at blinding speed and a large claw hand scratched across his face. Three long claw marks slid across the prince’s face as he was knocked to the ground. The hand that was ready to cast the spell was caught in the dragon’s fanged mouth, sharp teeth digging deep. Leo struggled against his grip, legs kicking furiously against the dragons underside, trying to break free. But one of Corrin’s claws was holding him down on his chest, the other keeping his free hand down, the Brynhildr out of his grasp, pushing down on the bone enough to nearly break it. Just as he dug his fangs in strong, ready to rip his arm clean off, another burst of magic came and hit him directly on his face, making him release his grip on Leo’s arm and knocking him back a step. Looking up in the direction of the magic, he saw Camilla standing not that far from him, tome in her hand and her other hand stretched out in front of her. As a deep growl escaped his mouth as he slowly trotted over Leo and towards her, her arm slowly fell down to her side and her eyes filled with regret and shame.

“Ohh...what am I doing…” The hand holding the tome fell to her side, the book nearly slipping out of her light grasp, “I thought I was ready for this...but...I-I can’t...” Her voice fell barely above a whisper, “I can’t hurt my Corrin…” With the dragon right in front of her, one last whisper left her mouth, “...I’m so sorry.”

A large claw hit the princess with great force, knocking her against the invisible barrier that surrounded the area. She felt her left arm snap back from the impact, a loud crack rang through the air, and the electric pulses of the magic ran through her core as she shrieked in pain before hitting the ground. Her right arm barely keeping her body up as her left laid limp at her side, her long purple hair covering her pained face. She could almost feel Beruka and Selena’s frightened gazes on her. As the dragon was about to walk over to the collapsed princess, he was stopped when a near blood red laser shot out in front of him, almost impaling his jaw, stopping him in his tracks. He looked at the source of the attack and saw him standing there.

Xander, holding Siegfried out in front of him, the blade pointing directly at the dragon and burning with a profuse flame, a menacing scowl painted on his face.

“That’s enough, Corrin.”

Each word was stern and deadly, punctuating each letter with the force of a deadly swing of his blade. Corrin turned his body and attention on the eldest prince, a deep growl, sounding almost like a lion, seeped from his fangs. Leo and Camilla looked up their older brother upon hearing his voice, but suddenly, to their surprise, they watched as he lowered his sword to his side, the flame dying down to a light aura, and the scowl on his face replaced with disheartening sadness.

“It doesn’t have to be like this, little prince,” His voice had a soft gentleness, immobilizing the dragon and filling the air with such a tense silence that it was almost possible to hear the heartbeats of everyone inside the castle, “This isn’t who you are. You are not a murderer. But you can stop this, you can end this reign of terror, right here and now,” His voice grew stronger and confident with each word, “Listen to me, Corrin,” He spoke, wanting to make sure the dragon was still paying attention to him, “We’re sorry. We’re sorry we weren’t there for you when you needed us. We’re sorry we weren’t there to comfort you, support you, help you get through your lose. We let you sink into your despair and give into your insanity. We led you to this, and we can never forgive ourselves for turning you into this. But we can save you. Even if you don’t believe, we can save you. But you have to come to your senses. You need to realize what you're doing and stop it yourself,” Corrin had been still up until now, only slight movement from his tail and chest from breathing. Xander could only hope this meant that his words were reaching him, “Some part of you still has to be conscious. Some part has to be aware of what you’re doing, aware that you can stop this. You can’t let this consume you, Corrin. You’re stronger than this, you’ve faced so much; surely you can fight this. Surely you can stop this madness and return to the person you once were. Niles wouldn’t have wanted you to become like this. And this time, we will be at your side at every second. We will be there to protect you, to guide you, to show you that you can be happy. But you have to allow us. You have to let us be by your side again, let us be a family once more. You have to stop this! RETURN TO US, LITTLE PRINCE!”

Deafening silence filled the air. Tension growing thick with each second, capable of making your skin crawl. Corrin remained still as he was when Xander was speaking, and the elder prince could feel his heart quickening with rising anxiety. He anxiously waited to see what he would do next, to see if his words were strong enough to pierce his blinded insanity, enough to guide him back to them and return to the pure hearted and noble man he once was. Feeling the tension within the air pressing in on him, compressing his chest and nearly making his breathe stop, he waited for a response as he saw Corrin bend his head down.

But when the dragon looked back up, all he was met with was a loud ear piercing roar, quaking the ground and shaking every nerve in his body. The roar was monstrous and purely animalistic, no trace of humanity was within that roar.

It really was too late. He was too far gone, too deep in his insanity for them to reach.

With the horrid realization setting in, Xander let out a heavy sigh, “Very well,” He held his sword back out in front of him, pointing at the dragon, the flame reigniting and burning the air around it, “But know this. You have committed such horrible crimes, and they will not go unpunished. I will not hold back.”

Corrin seemed more than eager to fight, front hooves turning into claws as he rushed at the crown prince, both claws slashing at him repeatedly, hardly sparing anytime to rest. But Xander was not one to be taken down so easily. He was the one who trained Corrin, taught him everything he knew about battling and outsmarting your opponent. He spent years memorizing each move the prince would make, each tactic he would use, all his strengths and weaknesses; even with this new form, he still fought as the crown prince remembered. And this one time he had to come out victorious, this one sparring match he wouldn’t help to guide his brother to victory, he refused to be the one bested. For if he lost, everyone did. He kept himself vigilant, staying mobile and keeping the dragon from being able to pin him down. The slashes of his claws and antlers, swipes of his tail and bites from his fangs lashed out more at air and earth than it did the crown prince. Xander kept himself on guard, his sacred sword acting more of a shield. He used his sword to block off the dragon’s attacks, his unbreakable grip on his sword and his steel enforced will to stay strong kept him steady and able to hold off against the dragon’s rage. He only fought back when he deemed it necessary, only when he felt that Corrin was too close. But even then, they were kept light, only enough to cause thin shallow scratches along the dragon’s legs, neck; one even across his face, scratching where his eye would likely be.

It was only when he struck out and hit the dragon on his chest, slicing through in the same way he had when he knocked the dragon out the window. The blade had pierced deep enough and reopened the wound. This made Corrin howl in pain, stumbling back as he kneeled down, panting heavily as he felt his own blood flow down the now fresh wound, curving down to his underside until it dripped onto the ground. The stinging pain and unbearable heat that ran through his chest unleashed something in him. A pure primal instinct. The same an animal would unleash when it felt threatened. When it saw their attacker as a threat, and when they were willing to do anything to stay alive. When they were ready to kill to live. A loud, shattering roar erupted from his mouth, sound waves strong enough to shake the ground below and knock the fragile off their feet. With a powerful stomp, Corrin dug his claw into the ground, breaking through pavement, dirt and gravel like water. Scooping up gravel and stone in his large claw, he sent it hurtling towards Xander like a wave of destruction. Not having any time to move out the way, Xander used his sword to block off the smaller gravel before smashing the large chunks of stone and pavement into pebbles. But the amount of wreckage being thrown at him was too much for his sword alone to stop, as a large chunk of the pavement struck him right on the center of his forehead. The force knocked him to the ground, the impact on the back of his head as he hit the ground coupled with the sheer pain on the front of his head made his vision swim and his consciousness blur. The blow to his front wasn’t enough to be deadly, but he could feel the cold air stinging the exposed flesh on his forehead and blood run down his face. It was when he heard something heavy slam down next to the side of his head, the rush of wind and sound of gravel crumbling rang in his left ear, that his eyes snapped open. Corrin was over him, one hoof having come down next to the crown prince’s head, and the other claw hand was raised high above him, ready to lash down at him and tear him to pieces. Just as he was about to bring it down-

**_SHINK!!!_ **

Everything stopped.

The soft winds running through the air ceased, halting the rustle of the leafs and grass. The residents in the castle froze, hearts skipping a beat and breath ceased for a moment in their lungs. Leo and Camilla laid still on the ground, eyes wide and muscles locked up at the sight. Xander was still.

And so was Corrin.

His claw hand was still raised above his head, frozen in place with only slight twitching and shakes. Low shaky growls slipped from his mouth, his body wracked with the _excruciating pain_ coming from his lower abdomen. With short pain gasps, he moved his head down to see the source of the pain. Siegfried was stabbed through his stomach, buried down to the hilt and piercing out his back. His blood spilled onto Xander’s hands and he could feel the blood drip off the blade and onto his back, running down his spine.

While Corrin’s still state was caused by pain, Xander’s was caused by surprise. When his eyes locked on the large claw that was ready to come down and pierce his body, his mind and pure instincts took over. They controlled his actions and moved his hands to quickly grab his sword and stab through the dragon’s gut. His eyes were wide in horror at his actions, and he wanted to pull his sword out. But primal instinct still held its grip on his body, and instead made him move the sword up the dragon’s body, slowly and surely cutting it’s way through his insides. The claw hand that was hovering over him came down at the other side of the crown prince’s head, balancing him as the sheer tearing pain from his insides wracked his body, pained screams and growls falling from his mouth. He wanted to stop Xander, lash a claw out at him or perhaps bite down on his head, but the feel of the blade tearing him apart was too unbearable for him to stand, freezing him in place as he felt the blade slowly climb up his body, seemingly coming to a stop once it reached his ribs. But with one final pull on his sword, Xander effortlessly cut through the dragon’s torso, his blade ripping out through his right shoulder, one last loud scream from the dragon echoed through the air.

With his sword now free, Xander rolled out from beneath the dragon as he collapsed onto the ground. The fear he had been holding back and the relief hit his heart in waves, overwhelming him and making him pant heavily to catch his breath. As he did, he looked over to Corrin. He watched as the dragon writhed along the floor, each limb twitching and pain gasped escaped his mouth, his own blood actively pooling around his large figure. The prince watched the movements in Corrin’s limbs, tail and wings slow down to a crawl before falling limp, his wings laying down at his sides. At first, Xander thought this signified his end. But he watched as light blue flames began to slowly emerge. They circled around Corrin’s form and slowly spread along his body, the flames soon covering his entire form and glowing in a lovely ethereal light. From within the flames, Xander could see the form slowly shrinking, limbs disappearing, as his draconic silhouette faded away to more of a human. And once the flames died down and vanished into the air, for the first time since this carnage had begun, Corrin returned to his normal form.

And like this, he looked even more horrible and sickening. The scratches and wounds that decorated his dragon body before were now marking each bit of flesh. His sterling white clothes were dyed in a deep dark scarlet and his light silver hair was mostly painted red. His eyes opened just a touch, showing he was still hanging on, but were very squinted, indicating his pain and weakened state. The shaky growls that spilled from his dragon mouth were now pained aching gasps spilling from his lips. Every part of him hurt. His head, his heart, his lungs, his insides, his limbs, his torso; everything wracking in pain, disgust and sadness.

He bore witness to everything. Each action he had committed and each horrid deed he'd done, he watched helplessly. Unable to fight back and put an end to it, he could only watch as he slaughtered helpless civilians and friends. He had to watch himself murder his dearest friends and family. He watched himself become a monster. The horrid feel that tore at his heart drove him to tears, the clear fluid coming from his eyes mixing into the red pool below him, crying in between coughs and gasps for any air. He couldn’t bear the horrid pain and realization of what his actions have caused. He just wanted it to end already. He just wanted to die and be sent to the Hell he rightfully deserved. Feeling his lungs burning and aching, making each breathe shorter and farther apart, and the heat in his body slowly die down to an aching chill, he knew the end would be soon. So he shut his eyes, eagerly awaiting for death to ensnare him and rid the world of the horrid being he became.

But as he felt the cold wrap around him, he felt a sudden warm presence on his head that gave him the strength to open his eyes and look at the source. It was Xander. He was kneeling down next to him and his hand was gently caressing his head and hair. No anger or disgust was in his eyes or touch, just sorrow and regret. Corrin couldn’t understand. Why was Xander comforting him? Why did it seem like he held no anger to him? He should hate him after everything he did, he should want him dead, especially after what he did to Elise. But he didn’t have the energy to question him, ask him why. All he could do was just allow his brother to do as he pleased as he waited for death to come.

Xander saw the confusion that appeared in Corrin’s eyes. He must have been shocked by his actions. But that didn’t matter right now. All that mattered to the crown prince was to comfort his brother in his last few moments and help him drift as peacefully as he could to his final rest. Xander watched as the movements on his brothers chest grew slower and lessened, his pain gasps slowly fade into the silent wind and the last of his tears rolled down the side of his face. With his heart sinking like a massive weight and tears burning at the corners of his eyes, he watched as Corrin’s eyes slowly shut, his body fall limp and his final breath slipped from his lips.

Once it was over, one last sentence left the crown prince’s mouth, a faint whisper being drifted along the wind.

“Rest well...little prince…”


	9. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies again for the long wait. I've been dealing with a lot of issues recently regarding college, so I haven't had much time to finish. I much rather prefer to work when I'm in a pleasent mood and not dealing with a lot of stress. But I'm back again, and it's time that I bring this to an end.
> 
> The nightmare may be over, but the effect still lingers.

When silence fell over as the life of the prince ended, the others within the castle found themselves able to move again and quickly made their way to the training ground. The door slammed open, knocking hard against the wall, as Peri rushed up to Xander, kneeling down next to him and wrapping her arms around his shoulders. The blood running down his face made her actually feel sick. It just didn’t look as nice when it was coming from him.

“Are you okay?” She asked softly, resisting the urge to caress the wound on his head in fear of hurting him.

Xander released his hand from Corrin’s hair and grabbed one of her hands, “I’m fine. I promise.”

The others flooded into the training ground. Siegbert joined his mother and hugged his father. Nyx and Forrest rushed to Leo and helped him stand up, and Beruka and Selena rushed to Camilla to do the same.

“Lady Camilla, your arm,” Selena winced at the sight of the princess’ bent left arm.

“No need to worry, darlings. With enough treatment, I’ll be back to normal,” She gingerly caressed both their cheeks with her good hand, a warm smile easing their worries.

Once the two royals had been steadied to their feet, them and all the others slowly circled around the fallen prince, standing back from the large red puddle that surrounded his body. Xander, Peri and Siegbert were kneeling on the blood, but the crown prince didn’t seem to have the capacity to move, so she and her son stayed as well, not wanting to separate from him.

Xander found himself unable to avert his gaze from his brothers body. He only looked away when he heard Peri sniff. Looking at her, he saw tears falling out the corners of her eyes, “What’s wrong, Peri?”

“I...I feel really weird. I love when meanies die, but...I don’t feel good. I just feel sad!”

He gently rubbed his thumb against her hand to console her, “It’s alright. All of us are just like you right now,” He looked back down at his brother's body, “None of us wanted it to come to this. None of us wanted this to be the only resolution, the only means of bringing back peace.”

He leaned forward, turning Corrin onto his back before picking him up, cradling him in his arms. He payed no mind to the blood running down his hands, arms and chest as he stood up. But the amount of blood that came from the wound on his head, that he had been paying no mind to up until now, made his vision swim as he stumbled and nearly fell back down had it not been for Peri and Sigbert holding him up.

“Father, we have to get you treated right away.”

“Actually, we need to get all of them treated,” Felicia spoke up, seeing the condition of the three royals, “Now, we’ll be able to go to the infirmary and properly heal you. Then we can all rest up and...get to work tomorrow…”

The tone of her voice noticeably dropped at the last sentence, as, not only her, all of their faces held a look of fear and disgust.

Xander knew this would happen. This would be the hardest part regardless of the outcome of the situation. They had seen many of their friends and loved ones die, witnessing their end right before them. And now, they would have to bring themselves to approach their fallen allies and gather their bodies to give them at least a proper funeral. They couldn’t just leave them haphazardly around the castle and act as though nothing happened. But with everything they had witnessed and all the trauma they experienced, he knew it would be far too much for them alone to have to find all those who had fallen that night.

“Felicia,” Xander called out to her, catching her attention, “How fast will you be able to treat us, to a state where we can walk around with ease?”

She gave a look of confusion as she answered, “Well, you really should take it easy after we heal you, but, with some help, I can have you all in a safe condition by sunrise.”

“I can help you,” Forrest volunteered, “And we can send a message to the infirmary staff to assist us. I’m sure if we explain why, they’ll be here in no time.”

“Yeah, you might be right!”

He looked over to his siblings, “Camilla, Leo, if we can get you treated as soon as possible, can you make a quick trip?”

“We should be able to,” She answered questioningly, “But where do you want us to go?”

“Hoshido.”

* * *

 

As the long night came to an end and the light of the moon faded away, the first sign of daybreak filled the sky. The midnight black sky slowly melded to the bright orange glow of the rising sun, the bright rays filling the land with light and heat and warmed the life and earth that resided on it. As the lovely luminescent light rose across the horizon, the light of day slowly grew over Castle Shirasagi, the radiant glow blooming the plant life and greenery that resided within the tranquil town. Sunlight spilled into the windows of the castle and into the rooms, bringing the start of the new day as the castle residents woke up and readied themselves for the day ahead of them. The Hoshidan army had been slowly and surely piecing together their military force and repairing the damages done to the castle and the nearby areas during the war, making steady progress to restore their former glory and beauty. Today was likely going to be another typical day of restorative work to their beloved kingdom.

But as the castle staff readied themselves for the day ahead of them, little did they know that four of the residents were already wide awake.

The Hoshidan royals were all awake and alert, and had been for many hours now. The loud long yawns that frequently came from them were tell tale signs of their exhaustion. But they were unable to rest, as too many thoughts and questions were running through their minds after the events that had occurred last night.  

When the moon was high in the sky and the day had come to an end, the castle residents were all ready to rest up for the next day. As Ryoma went to lock the front doors, he was nearly knocked onto his back as the doors burst open and a young man riding a pegasus practically crashed onto the ground in front of him. Up close, he could see the full extent of the sheer exhaustion both of them were showcasing. The pegasus’ legs were trembling, looking ready to collapse at any moment. Its long elegant wings were drooping on the ground like paper. And he noticed it was carrying its weight on it front legs to avoid putting pressure on a wound on one of its hind legs. The boy wasn’t any better. His face was pale and his eyes were empty yet frightened at the same time. When he dismounted himself from his pegasus, he nearly fell to the ground, holding himself up by the reigns of his steeds saddle. When he tried to speak to the Hoshidan prince, any words that came from his mouth were lost amongst heavy panting and frantic slurs. Ryoma had never seen such fear quite like what was painted on the young man's face. It looked like he had caught a glimpse of Hell itself. Ryoma’s confusion faded away to his conscience as he called forth some of the nearby guards to have the pegasus taken to the stables to have its wound treated and bring the young man to one of the guest rooms to get some rest and calm his nerves. The other three sibling had rushed into the room at the sound of the front doors slamming open, ready for a possible threat, but were calmed when Ryoma explained the situation. But his explanation only caused more concerns and more questions to enter their minds.

Once they properly locked the front doors, they tried to get some rest. But the perplexing and mysterious situation kept them from being able to rest for the smallest moment. Once they realized that none of them were going to be able to get any sleep like this, the four of them joined together in a small room and tried to rationalize the situation. They analyzed everything; the young man's condition, the pegasus’ wounded and exhausted state, his look of absolute terror, why he had come to them so late, if something had gone horribly wrong; anything that made the most logical sense. But once they realized that all their theorizing was getting them nowhere, they decided that the only way they were going to get any answers was for them to wait for the young man to calm down and wake up.

So they waited.

The silence that fell over them as they waited was maddening, but the anxiousness and anxiety that overtook them as they waited kept them from breaking the tension. Their consciousness so daze and laxed that they were taken by surprise when daytime finally lite up the room and the guard Ryoma had assigned to keep an eye on the young man entered the room.

“Lord Ryoma, the guest has awoken and he’s on his way here right now.”

“Thank you,” He spoke as the guard took his leave, leaving the door open.

“Hopefully now we can get some answers.”

“Try to be gentle with him, brother,” Ryoma tried to soothe his brothers skeptical tone. At sometime during their discussion, Takumi had brought up the possibility that this might be some sort of elaborate ruse. But Ryoma just knew something had to be wrong. Not even the greatest of actors could fake the pure primal fear he saw on the young man's face.

Speaking of which, as they rubbed away the last of their fatigue from their eyes, the blue haired pegasus knight entered the room and closed the door behind him. The fear and panic he had the night before was not as present, but there was a strong sullen look on his face as he looked up at them.

“How do you feel?”

“A little better now,” His voice was soft and meek, “I’m really grateful for your hospitality, Prince Ryoma.”

“Please, think nothing of it. It’s reassuring to see that you’re in a better state. Your pegasus is doing well, it’s wounds weren’t anything severe.”

“Thank you,” A small smile appeared before it faded away, “I can understand that you all might be confused. Anything you wish to know, feel free to ask.”

“Well, for starters, who are you? And why did you come here?” Takumi kept his tone in check, but slight hints of his usual stern tone were in his words.

“My name is Shigure. I came here for help. I need you and your army to follow me back to Nohr! My friends and family are in terrible danger!” The panic and fear he had displayed the night before had returned as he spoke and he was reminded of his reason for coming here.

“Danger?” Hinoka was puzzled, “What do you mean?”

“A horrid beast has found its way to Nohr, and it wants nothing more to eliminate every one of us. I barely escaped with my life, and I need you to come back with me to stop it! Gods, I can only hope I’m not too late…” The last sentence was speaking more to himself than the others.

“How can we trust that you’re actually telling the truth?” The young prince stubbornly asked.

“I wouldn’t lie about something like this!” He yelled back, “Me and my pegasus were lucky to have escaped, but my mother, Azura, was not so fortunate. I saw...I watched as the beast killed her right before my eyes!”

Shocked silence fell over them as the royals all felt their hearts stop for a moment at his words.

“...A...A-Azura...s-s-she’s...d...d...d-dead…?” Sakura stammered out, her voice squeaking as she felt herself on the verge of tears.

“I hate to believe that it’s true myself, but it is,” He looked down at the ground, feeling his own eyes begin to water at the memory of the scene, “And that’s not the worst of it. I’ve yet to tell you the one responsible for this.”

Before they could further question him, a sudden knock came on the door.

“Come in,” Ryoma answered as the door opened and he saw one of his retainers, “What is it, Saizo?”

“Lord Ryoma, you have visitors. Camilla and Leo of Nohr.”

Normally, news that some of the Nohrian royals have arrived would surprising. But with what Shigure just told them, it made his story seem more credible.

“We’ll be right there.”

The four royals left the room, with Ryoma motioning for Shigure to follow them, and headed for the entrance. And standing in front of the castle doors was the Nohrian prince and princess. And though they were prepared to see them, they weren’t expecting to see them in the condition they were in.

Camilla’s left arm was casted and hoisted at the side of her torso by a sling and a large bandage covered almost the entirety of her right cheek. Leo seemed to have a similar treatment, but it was hard to tell since he wasn’t even looking at them. His gaze was casted at the ground, but even then they could see the empty, vacant look in his eyes.

“Camilla, Leo!”

Shigure moved through the royals and approached the Nohrian prince and princess.

“Shigure,” A warm smile grew on Camilla’s face as she reached out to him and gently brushed her hand across his cheek, “It’s so relieving to see you alive. The others will be so happy to see you.”

“The others,” His voice filled with shock and worry, “Is it all over? Is everyone alright?”

“It’s over now, although…” Her smile dropped into sadness, “But, we took quite a heavy toll.”

“...Gods, no…” His head dropped as tears ran down his face, “I...I was too late...I couldn’t…”

Camilla’s hand drifted to his chin as she tilted his head up and her thumb rubbed away the tear, “Please don’t feel guilty, sweetie. None of this is your fault. We’re glad that you’re safe and that you were spared from what happened.”

Hearing the way they were speaking and the condition of the Nohrian prince and princess set everything in stone. To clarify, Ryoma stepped forward to the princess, “So, you really have been struck with a disaster.”

She looked back to the Hoshidan prince and nodded, “I guess Shigure has told you about what’s happened.”

“He told us that his mother was killed by a malicious beast and he was worried for your safety. He came to us seeking help.”

“He also was about to tell us who was the one who killed Azura,” The younger prince chimed in.

“Well, it’s not just Azura who suffered because of this tragedy. Many of our friends and family was lost last night, and...well, we’ll explain everything else in due time. But, right now, we came to ask a favor of you.”

“You don’t seem like you need us for military support,” The elder Hoshidan princes said.

“No, collateral damage. We’ve taken quite a lot of damage, and we could use your help to repair the damages and...help find everyone we lost.”

All the sudden news and the request was only raising more questions than answers, but the genuine pain and fear they’ve seen from them was enough to convince them that this was a crucial matter.

“Very well. We’ll lend you the support you need and more.”

The princess gave a warm smile, “Thank you so much, dear prince.”

“Are you sure it's a good idea to leave Hoshido unattended?”

“Don’t worry, Hinoka. So long as we make sure everything is secure and well enforced, Hoshido will be safe during our absence,” Ryoma looked back to the Nohrian princess, “Camilla, just give us some time to gather our army, secure our military forces and gather our resources for the trip to Nohr.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Leo’s sudden voice caught them off guard, especially as it was spoke with no emotion, “Just gather your men and secure your castle, and we’ll bring you there.”

They didn’t understand what he meant, but when they saw Camilla nod in approval, they decided to go along with it.

Making quick work, the four royals worked to gather up the army that would accompany them and make sure their military force was in peak condition to ensure the safety of the kingdom for the next few days, just in case their visit to Nohr lasted longer than they thought.

Within mere minutes, they gathered their army outside of the castle. Many of them were rather suspicious and not fond of having to help the Nohrian army, but seeing the royals conviction and hearing the explanation of what was going on, they were willing to put their personal feelings aside for the time being.

Once the royals were back outside, Hinoka walked out alongside a large white pegasus that went to a full on gallop towards Shigure, the young man holding the steed's head in a hug.

“Don’t worry, your pegasus is just fine.”

“Thank you, Princess Hinoka,” His hand brushed through his steed's mane, “I'm so glad you're safe.”

As the elder princess couldn’t help but smile, Ryoma looked at Camilla, “We have everyone.”

“Good,” She looked over to her brother, “Go ahead, Leo.”

The young prince gave a faint nod before he pulled out a spell book. Opening its pages, magic gathered in his free hand as a magic circle formed around all the soldiers, there bodies glowing a faint ethereal light. As the magic of the circle glowed brightly, pillars of light wrapping around them, within an instant, they all vanished.

Light blinded the Hoshido soldiers, and when it subsided, they saw that they were now standing not that far from the entrance to Castle Krakenburg. Finishing the spell, Leo silently closed the spell book and walked towards the castle. With a nod from Camilla, they followed after the Nohrians towards the castle entrance. As they drew near, they could see the Nohrian army standing outside the entrance. But with each step, they noticed many strange things about them. Their numbers were considerably smaller than they remembered, many of them held this broken sullen look and some of them were injured. When Xander stepped forward to greet his siblings, they noticed the bandages wrapped around his forehead.

“Great to have you two back.”

Camilla gave a small smile, her hand reaching out to Leo to guide him into the crowd. As she did, someone else stepped out of the crowd. A young girl with light blue hair.

“Shigure?!”

The young pegasus knight’s eyes immediately trained on his younger sister when she broke through the crowd. “Soleil!” He ran up to his sister, who was rushing towards him, and caught her in a bone crushing hug.

“Thank Gods...thank Gods at least you’re alive!” She cried out in between her sobs, smothering her face against his chest as she cried.

 _“At least…”_ The words rang in his mind and made his stomach roil in disgust, but he decided not to focus on them now. Just to focus on holding his sister.

As the siblings reunited, Ryoma walked up to Xander. The Nohrian prince gave him a greeting smile.

“I’m glad you could come. I assume Camilla has told of what happened.”

“Yes. She told us that you were struck with a horrid disaster that cost you many lives,” He saw the grim look on the Nohrian prince’s face as he continued, “But there is one thing we have yet to be told. Who was the one responsible for this?”

The prince let out a heavy sigh before he spoke, eyes full of remorse, “You remember the battle at Castle Shirasagi? When you killed Corrin’s husband, Niles?”

The memory made Ryoma’s heart ache. He’s tried so hard to erase that day from his mind. He gave a nod as the other prince continued.

“That day left a truly significant impact on his fragile heart. One we didn’t take proper care to fix. He disappeared about a month back, and when he returned to us, he was no longer the same person. His sadness gave in to the bloodlust of his dragon blood. He returned to us a senseless dragon with nothing more than a desire to kill.”

The horrid news slowly sunk into the Hoshidan’s hearts, rendering all words mute. The deafening silence was finally cut when the eldest princess choked out her words.

“So...the one who did this...was Corrin?”

The elder prince noded, “I understand that this might be impossible for you to believe, but we would never lie about something this serious. We lost many of our friends and family, many of which we witnessed with our own eyes. That’s why we asked for you to come here.”

“Camilla mentioned that you needed us for help with collateral damage.”

“In a way. Like I said, we lost many loved ones last night. While we were unable to save them, the least we can do is give them a proper burial. But with the state my allies are in, I can’t send them alone to gather the remains of their friends and family. But we can’t allow them to stay where they are a moment longer. That’s why we asked for you to come here. We’d like your help to gather everyone we lost so that we may give them a dignified end.”

Now that everything had been cleared up, everything fell silent. The Hoshidan’s minds raced as they tried to contemplate if they should help. In one part of their mind, they wanted to help. Even with everything that happened between the two nations during the war, the sheer scope and seriousness of this event made them want to help. But on the other hand, they were afraid. They would have to bear witness to everything they suffered. They would have to see every casualty and learn first hand of everyone's pain. And considering some of them on the walk to the castle entrance had to avoid stepping in what seemed like a dried puddle of blood on the grass, they just knew it was going to get worse from here on out.

Seeing many of their conflicting looks, Xander spoke again, “I understand if this request seems like too much. If you’d like to return back to Hoshido, we’ll be more than willing to fund your trip back. We won’t force you to do this.”

Ryoma looked back to his Hoshidan army. He could see the fear and concern written on their faces, but watched as they slowly lessen and grew into an understanding acceptance. Seeing that everyone was now on board, he looked back at the Nohrian crown prince.

“There’s no need for that. We’ll be willing to help you with anything you need.”

The prince smiled, “Thank you,” His smile faded into a serious look, “It’s best we get to work right away. We’ve let our friends to loiter for long enough.”

With everyone mentally steeling themselves, the two armies walked into the castle and immediately got to work.

It didn’t take long for the Hoshidan army to fully realize the true tragedy of the situation.

Everywhere they went, the putrid smell of blood flooded their noses. It took them all they had to keep themselves from vomiting at the excruciating stench, though some of them had to be escorted away to avoid further defecating the floors. Especially the kitsune, who had to be relieved from their duty and escorted to a safe haven as their heightened senses made walking through the halls a literal torture. Many of them were unsociable throughout the process. Simply because they just couldn’t find the words to say at the sight of each casualty. But that didn’t stop little whispers between Hoshidan’s from slipping into the ears of others.

“This is horrible.”

“It really is like a living nightmare.”

“Not even they deserved something like this.”

Such simple phrases became poignant within the silent atmosphere as they worked to finish this task as quickly as possible if it meant they could get away from this horrid sight. With the two armies spread out throughout Castle Krakenburg, each person would have to find some way to cope with the nightmare.

* * *

 

Shigure and Soleil separated from the group not long after they entered the castle. They knew they had to help the others gather up the dead, but both knew they had many questions for each other that just had to get answered, pieces of the puzzle that had to be filled in in order for them to move on. They found a small gathering room and entered, sitting next to each other on the comfy couch.

“You have no idea how glad I am to see you,” She spoke as her arms wound around his chest, resting her head against his left shoulder.

“I’m just as happy to see you, too,” He replied as his arm wrapped around her body, “Before, you said that you were glad that at least I was alive. Does that mean...father…”

She nodded against his shoulder and he felt his heart sink. Before he could reply, she spoke, “I’ll explain in a bit. But, right now, I want to know what happened. Where were you? What happened to mom? I want you to tell me everything!”

“Of course,” He rubbed his hand on her back before he began, “When mother and I were returning from our patrols, we stopped by a lake on the way back. While we were there, my pegasus ran off in fear. I chased after her and managed to calm her down. But, when I got back...I saw Corrin...holding mother down in the lake, ripping her apart,” Her face paled as his voice began to crack, “I wanted to save her, I really wanted to, I wanted to find some way to help. But...there was so much blood...and what I saw floating in the water...even if I were to stop him, there was no way I would be able to save mother in time. All I could do was watch. Just watch as he completely mutilated her.” He swallowed to keep himself from crying at the memory, “He tried to catch me, but I was able to get away. I knew I had to get some help, but I couldn’t risk going back and having Corrin find me. So I decided on the first location that came to mind: Hoshido. It was the only place I can think of that could save you all. But, the entire time I was flying there, I nearly drove myself insane. I kept thinking that if I looked behind me, Corrin would be there, ready to finish his job. The smallest sound made me wary, anything that looked remotely like him made my heart stop, each second made it harder for me to tell what was real and what wasn’t. I practically went mad in fear of anything that could happen to me. I must have been very delirious, as when I reached Hoshido, Prince Ryoma sent me to get rested to calm me down. So I ended up spending the night in Hoshido.”

Hearing the explanation, the young girl couldn’t help but smile and hugged her brother tighter, “Well, I’m just glad you’re alive and you didn’t get hurt. You and your pegasus.”

He gently caressed her back as he spoke, “I think I’ve answered all your questions. Now, please tell me what happened to father.”

At his desperate plea, she began, “When Corrin got in the castle, we tried to find a safe place to hide. So Prince Xander and the others started to lead us to the training grounds. But when we were crossing one of the outside passages, Corrin came from the path above us and started attacking us through the gate. We tried to run away, but he followed after us and kept trying to grab one of us. He was about to grab Prince Xander, but father...father pushed him out of the way a-and Corrin grabbed him.” Her breath hitched and her voice broke as tears spilled from her eyes. Shigure brought his hand up and wiped away her tears with his thumb as she continued, “He...He told us to r-run...So we did! We left him! We had no choice, we couldn’t do anything else, so we left him! W...We still heard e-everthing...I...I heard…” Her words fell apart as she cried profusely. Shigure brought his hand to her hair and held her against his chest.

“Soleil…”

“...D-Don’t get me wrong. I’m s-still really happy to see you. But...why? Why did this have to happen? We didn’t do anything wrong. Why did we have to lose them?!”

“...I...I don’t know…” He held her tight, tears running down his face.

“Don’t blame yourselves for it. It’s neither of your guys fault.”

The two were caught off guard at the voice. They looked to where it came from and saw the young troubadour and dark mage standing in the doorway.

“Dwyer, Ophelia? What are you two doing here?”

Closing the door behind them, the young woman spoke, “We noticed your absence during the restoration process. I could sense your despair and we simply couldn’t bear to allow you to suffer in silence.”

The pegasus knight gave a small smile, “Thank you, but you two don’t have to worry about us. You need to help the others.”

“Don’t be stupid. We’re not just gonna let you two cry alone. Besides, you’re not the only ones who lost your parents.”

The grim drop in the troubadour’s tone made him worry, “W-What do you mean?”

“The sacrifice Dwyer’s father made to ensure our safety forced him to suffer the ultimate consequence. And, unfortunately, the waters of despair swallowed my mother into it’s depths, never to return.”

He picked up quickly on her intricate wording and felt his heart twist. The two walked over to sit down next to them, Dwyer sitting next to Shigure and Ophelia next to Soleil, as the pegasus knight spoke, “I’m so sorry you two had to go through that.”

“You don’t need to apologize. It’s not your fault. So don’t blame yourself for this, okay?” The pegasus knight barely gave a nod, making the troubadour sigh and continued, “Look, when father decided to stay behind to hold back Corrin, before we left, he made me promise him something.”

“What was it?”

“To stay strong and keep mother safe. At the time, I thought he just meant to keep her safe from Corrin. But, looking at you two, I know what he really meant. I have to now take his place and stay by her side, keep her safe and make her happy. And now, we all have to do the same.”

“What do you mean?” The blue haired girl asked.

“I have to be there for mother, Ophelia for her father, and you two need to be there for each other. Now that we all lost a parent, we have to be ready to protect our family more than ever.”

The siblings were almost in shock of how deep his words were, but looking at each other, they both knew that every word he said was true.

Seeing their newfound conviction, Ophelia spoke, “The shadows of grief may be strong, but we must not allow them to overtake us. With our renewed strength, we must brave the ocean of despair for not only us, but our family.”

Smiling at her words, Shigure looked down at his sister, “You’re right. I couldn’t bear to think about how I couldn’t save everyone. But, knowing that you’re alive, Soleil, I’m willing to do anything to make sure you stay safe.”

“You sound just like Lazlow.”

A light hearted laugh filled the room before the pegasus knight spoke, “Thank you both, we really appreciate you coming here.”

The dark mage smiled warmly, “We couldn’t bare to allow you to suffer from your lose. In a way, we not only rejuvenated your hearts, but reassured ours. We don’t have to go back at the moment, so if you wish to calm your minds more, we’re willing to comply to your desire.”

“I think we’ll take up your offer,” Soleil spoke, hugging her brother tighter, “Besides, I don’t think I’m ready to go out there yet.”

“Neither am I.”

The siblings held each other tight as their friends comfortingly rubbed their backs, wanting to savor this moment of peace and happiness in this time of horror and sadness.

* * *

 

Whispers were heard amongst the working soldiers, though most of them revolved around the current situation. But some of them were very quick to catch a certain young prince’s ears.

As he worked alongside his father, Shiro couldn’t help but notice some of the Nohrian staff talk amongst themselves regarding someone named Siegbert. Them being on the constant move made it hard for him to get the full details, but he heard from many of them of a certain brave deed Siegbert did and how he was being hailed as a hero during the horrific event. The constant chatter amongst the Nohrian army ate away at his curiosity, until he knew he wouldn’t be able to let it go until he got the full truth. Making up the most credible excuse he could, he convinced Ryoma to let him go off on his own. Once he was out of the sight of his father, Shiro rushed up to the first Nohrian he could find; a young maid who was passing by.

“Hey miss, mind if I ask you something?”

“Of course. What is it you need?”

“I’ve been hearing about this guy called Siegbert for ages now. What can you tell me about him, and why he’s such a big deal?”

“Oh yes, Prince Siegbert,” A warm smile graced the maid's face, “We were attacked in a very vulnerable state, but he was prepared. He stood against the draconic Corrin and fought him off just to ensure that his friends and family could make it somewhere safe. He was one of few to engage Corrin and live, and he asked for nothing in return for his fearless action.”

Hearing the full story impressed him greatly, and Shiro found himself more curious than before, “Where is Siegbert?”

“He was brought to the infirmary. His encounter with Corrin left him greatly injured and Lord Xander insisted that he rest himself for the time being.”

“Can you take me to him?”

“Of course. Follow me, please.”

He followed along as the maid effortlessly weaved through the long stretching halls of the Nohrian castle. He knew that if any of the Hoshidan’s were to travel alone in this place, they’d be lost in mere minutes. With relative ease, they soon stopped in front of a large door.

“This is where Prince Siegbert is resting.”

“Thanks.”

“My pleasure,” With a bow, the maid turned around and walked down the hall.

With the maid out of sight, Shiro approached the large door. Not bothering to knock, he slowly opened the door and peered inside. Right in his sight, he saw the young Nohrian prince sitting on one of the beds. His eyes immediately caught sight of the torn sleeve of his shirt giving way to the stump that was his left shoulder, wrapped in white gauze. _‘Guess that’s the injury she meant.’_ The Nohrian prince was looking out the window, not seeming to take notice of Shiro’s presence. Entering the room, he closed the door behind him loud enough to catch Siegbert’s attention, his head whipped quickly to his side as his eyes widened with shock and confusion.

“Hey.”

“Um, h-hello. Who are you?”

“Shiro, Ryoma’s kid. You’re Xander’s kid, Siegbert, right?”

“Yes, I am. But, if you’re Prince Ryoma’s son, why are you here? Father told me you were all helping with the restoration process.”

“We are, but a lot of the people here are talking about you. They call you a hero for what you did.”

“A-A hero?” An embarrassed blush reddened his face, “I wasn’t expecting it to go this far.”

“I got some pieces of the story, but I’d like it if you gave me the full details.”

Seeing the Hoshidan prince’s genuine curiosity, Siegbert spoke, “Corrin was about to attack my cousin, Forrest. I acted on impulse and attacked Corrin to catch his attention away from Forrest. Even though I knew what I was getting into and that I might be in over my head, I decided to fight off Corrin so the others could escape. I just wanted to give them the smallest opportunity for them to get somewhere safe. I guess Corrin must have gotten sick of me, so he tore off my arm.”

“That explains it,” His eyes were locked on the bandaged stump.

Siegbert looked down at the missing appendage with a grim reminder of the pain of it, “Honestly, I probably wouldn’t be here if father, Aunt Camilla and Uncle Leo didn’t help me. I don’t really deserve the praise they’ve been giving me.”

“You really need to give yourself more credit,” He spoke as he walked up to the Nohrian prince and sat on the edge of the bed, “If you didn’t do that, that cousin of yours would be one of the bodies we’re trying to gather.” Seeing that his words weren’t getting to the blue haired prince, he continued, “Tell me, why did you really do that? I know you said you did it to save your cousin, but think really hard about why you willingly threw yourself in the range of a killer monster completely aware of what you were doing.”

Siegbert thought for a moment, silence falling over the room, before he finally spoke, “I guess...I wanted it all to stop. I saw so many people die, so many people suffer, so many lives being destroyed; I couldn’t bear to watch it anymore. I thought that if I could fight off Corrin, if I could get him to stop, that I could end the suffering, the pain; everything. But...I couldn’t. I saved Forrest, but...I couldn’t save Aunt Elise.” His voice fell at his last words and his head dropped.

“Hey, you can’t blame yourself for that. You had no control over that.”

“What do you mean?”

“Answer this; were you there when your aunt was killed?”

“Well, no. We didn’t find out about her death until Uncle Leo was brought back into the castle. He was the only one with her when it happened.”

“There you go,” He continued, seeing the confused look on the Nohrian prince, “If you were there when it happened, then you would have a reason to feel guilty. But you weren’t. So don’t beat yourself up for something you weren’t even involved in. Like I said, give yourself credit for what you did, rather than hating yourself over what you wish you could have done,” He scooted closer to the Nohrian prince, bringing his hand up to rest on his unbandaged shoulder, “Don’t forget, you’re the reason your cousin is still alive. If anything, he’s the one singing the most praise for you, thanking you for letting him live for another day.”

Siegbert’s eyes were wide at his words, his face soon relaxed into a comforting calmness as he smiled.

“Thank you.”

“No problem.” A light laugh escaped his lips, confusing Siegbert.

“What is it?”

“It’s weird. I was told a lot about the Nohrians. The cruel actions they did, the pain and damage they caused us, their lack of empathy. I was always told that the first time I would meet with one would be a complete disaster. Yet, here I am, talking to one like I’ve known him my whole life.”

A small laugh escaped Siegbert lips as the bizarreness of the situation he was in finally sank in. Yet he could help but also feel elated because of it. A light laugh came from Shiro before he stood up.

“I really should go. My dad’s probably wondering where the hell I am.”

“Okay,” He watched as the Hoshidan prince walked to the door, stopping him before he walked out, “Shiro...thank you.”

“No problem, Sieg.” With a smile, he left before Siegbert could comment on his nickname.

A small chuckle left his lips as he leaned back against the wall, feeling his anxious and aching heart calm into a gentle peace the first time since last night.

* * *

 

The halls of Castle Krakenburg were truly perplexing and confusing. Even as someone trained to know every inch of their surroundings and use it to their advantage, Saizo still found himself wondering how any of the Nohrians can easily travel through the castle. But questioning their choice of architecture wasn’t important right now. He had more important things to worry about.

He had to find Kaze.

He wasn’t sure why he was so focused on finding him. Perhaps it was out of concern, worry, curiosity or simple brother intuition. He didn’t know for sure, but one thing he did know was that if he didn’t find Kaze, he would never get this nagging feeling out of his mind.

But finding him was easier said than done, as his twin was proving to be even more elusive than usual. No matter who he spoke to, Hoshidan or Nohrian, he wasn’t getting any closer to finding him. His only possible resource now was Xander. He searched every hall of the castle, trying to find the Nohrian crown prince. Eventually, his search led him to the lowest ground of the castle, where the training grounds resided. As he walked through the hall, he felt a sudden unbearable chill that sent goosebumps all along his skin. The cold seemed to be coming from outside, and he could pick up the slight sound of crying. He considered wanting to find out what was happening, but since the sound of sobbing had been a constant noise since they started the restoration process, he decided it was best to not intervene and focused on trying to find Xander. Finally, he found him, standing at the end of the hall sending off two other guards.

“Prince Xander,” The prince turned around and faced the ninja as he approached him.

“Do you need something, Saizo?”

“Do you know where Kaze is?”

“He went out with a search party into the forest nearby. Some of our friends were out there last night, so they’re working to find any trace of what happened to them.”

“Understood. Thank you.”

With that, the ninja disappeared into thin air. Reappearing in front of the castle entrance, he set out into the forestation that surrounded the castle. For most people, trying to find Kaze in the middle of a dense forest would prove to be a near impossible challenge. But being a ninja sure has its perks, as it made it child's play for Saizo to track him down. Within a few minutes, he found him. Even amongst the greenery of the forest, his brother’s green hair and armor still made him stand out.

Not wanting to frighten him, Saizo slowly walked up towards him, the loud crunching of leaves with each step falling on his brother's deaf ears. Kaze was facing away from him, his gaze casted down upon something he was holding in his arms, noticeable shivers coming off his slim form.

“Kaze.” He kept his voice soft and calm as he stopped a few steps away from his brother.

“......Hello, brother…” His voice was hoarse and croaked. He slowly turned to face his twin, only making it halfway through. Like this, Saizo got a better view of his brother. His arms were covered in dirt and blood, his eyes were red and puffy, looking as though he had been crying for hours, the half-dried tears soaking his face, making his skin slightly shine in the dim light leaking through the trees, helping to prove this theory. And in his arms, he saw what he was carrying.

A child size body bag.

“...Who are you holding?”

His eyes fell down to the small bag, “...Midori...my...my daughter…”

Like a heavy weight being dropped onto him, Kaze dropped to his knees as his hold on the body bag slackened and fresh tears started running down his face. “She left last night to gather some herbs. When Azura and Shigure went missing, we sent a search party to find them and...I asked them to find her. But...I...I should have gone myself. Maybe then...I could have saved her,” His arms wrapped tight around the small bag, hugging it tight as more tears spilled from his eyes, “I couldn’t s-save Corrin...all those years ago...I c-c-couldn’t help bring him b-back...and I couldn’t s-save my own d-d-daughter. I failed as a retainer...and I failed as a father! I abandoned you, my home, everything just to better myself, **and I still ended up a failure!”**

Kaze doubled over onto the ground, the bag slipping from his hands, as he cried and wailed loud enough to frighten any wildlife anywhere near him. Any words that Saizo had been considering saying to him vanished at the sight of his brother. Just how long had it been since he saw him like this? So broken and...downtrodden. It’s been years since he had to bore the sight of his twin crying his eyes out. Every moment he saw the river of tears falling to the grass and heard the shattering cries of anguish made a horrid pain wrack at his heart. Hurting just as much as when he lost his eye.

Silently walking closer, Saizo stopped and knelt down next to him. Kaze looked up at his brother when he felt his warm hand rest on his back. His single eye held a sympathetic warmth that was a rare sight on the stern red-haired ninja. His vision blurring from the tears, Kaze shot up and wrapped his arms around Saizo, holding himself tightly against his brothers chest, his tears sinking into his clothing. Saizo’s arms were still at his sides out of surprise, and Kaze was almost expecting them to push him away. Instead, those arms came up and gently rested on his back, holding him close to his twin.

“Brother…”

Any words he planned to speak fell silent as he rested his head on his brother's shoulder, his hands gripping tight on the clothes on his back, keeping him from moving anywhere. Saizo gave no resistance and remained silent as his brother wept, one hand coming up to rest in his brother’s green hair.

He hadn’t anticipated his reunion with his twin to come to this, but, then again, he sought out his brother with no intention in mind other than to see him. And now that he found him like this, he knew this was the only right thing for him to do. He felt like he wouldn’t be able to live with himself had he just stood still or left Kaze alone in the middle of a dense forrest, suffering and hating himself. The younger twin always had been very hard on himself, but this was something else entirely. Something far worse than Saizo ever saw. In this moment, he had to do what was right, he had to do only what was proper of an older brother. Regardless of what had occurred between the two during the war, in this moment, none of it mattered.  

What they will do once Kaze had calmed down, what they will do when they return to the castle, what they will do when the restoration process was finished, what they will do when everything was at peace again; he would leave that for the future to decide. He would let things take their course as they choose.

The only thing he was focusing on was easing Kaze’s pain, letting him cry as he pleased as he held his younger brother close.

* * *

 

Camilla was becoming utterly restless. As she stood just outside the castle entrance, occasionally pacing back and forth before stopping and leaning against the wall on her uninjured side, each second that passed made her heart beat faster. She was waiting for the search party they sent into the forest to come back and reveal the fates of those they sent out last night. Though everyone already assumed the worst based on their previous findings of others that were outside last night, she held on to her hopes that at least they would alive. It was a weak and small hope, but she clung to it like a thread. And she would hold onto it until it evaporated if it meant she could at least see her family.

Minutes passed by like years, her legs quivering from the constant pacing. She was just about to head back inside to rest and wait, but she caught sight of one of the soldiers coming out of the forest. He walked up to her and gave a brisk bow.

“Well?”

Before they left into the forest to search, she had given them one order. Regardless of the outcome of their search, don’t be afraid to tell her the truth. She rather they be blunt with her than try to dodge the topic as long as they could.

His face immediately dropped into sorrowful remorse, “I’m sorry, Lady Camilla.”

From the forest behind him, the other guards came out, carrying two body bags. Upon seeing them, the truth set in deep into her heart like a knife.

“...Very well. Thank you for your work. You can bring them inside now.”

“Yes, milady,” He bowed again, his eyes silently apologizing to her, before he and the other guards walked passed her and into the castle.

It was only when she knew she was alone that everything struck her. Her body collapsed against the wall and her sore and weak legs gave in, dropping her to her knees. What struck her was everything she had been holding in ever since this ordeal started. She had done everything in her power to stay strong. She knew it was important that her and her siblings had to restrain their sorrow and fear else everyone else would break. With each horrid news received and each casualty witnessed, she had to keep a brave face on for the sake of all her friends. But inside, she was becoming more of a wreck with each wound to her heart. First, her sweet Elise. Then, her dearest Corrin. And now, her precious husband and daughter…

The tears didn’t come gradually, they spilled from her eyes like waterfalls. Sniffs and loud cries escaped her as her hand came up to try and futily keep her voice down, her casted arm subconsciously hugging against her torso. Her long hair flowed around her head, shielding anyone from being able to see her cry. In a way, she was thankful that no one would be able to see her in such a vulnerable state. But a part of her didn’t want to suffer alone, to be left with no one to comfort her.

As she cried, she paid no mind to anything around her, and thus, didn’t hear the soft footsteps slowly making their way towards her before stopping in front of her. A hand reached out and rested on her shoulder, making her look up, seeing Selena standing over her.

“Lady Camilla…”

“I-I’m sorry, darling,” She held back her cries as she wiped away her tears, “I didn’t want you to see me like this. I must look really messy right now.”

“It’s okay, Lady Camilla. I understand,” She kneeled down in front of her, “You lost your little sister, it’s okay for you cry. Besides, I just saw them bring in Keaton and Velouria. There’s no shame in crying.”

Keeping her sobs in check, she gave a grateful smile, “Thank you, dear. I’m fine now, you can go back in-”

“No, I’m not leaving you here. No one should have to cry alone,” Her eyes grew shallow, “Besides, I just heard from Kaze about Midori...and, well…”

“Oh, come here, sweetie,” Camilla reached out, pulling her retainer into a soft hug, minding her broken arm, “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay,” She wrapped her arms around Camilla, minding her casted arm, “I told you that it’s okay to cry. But...is it okay...if I can cry with you?”

“Not at all, honey,” Her voice started to break as she felt the tears already coming back.

Selena’s silent tears fell under Camilla’s loud cries. She knew they probably looked pretty shameful at the moment, but it didn’t matter. She would stay there for hours if it meant Camilla would feel better. And if anyone dared to try and mock either of them in such a vulnerable state, she would make them sorry.

* * *

 

“Is this the last place we need to search?”

As the restoration process was finally drawing to an end, Leo led Takumi, Hinata and Oboro through the castle, the group now crossing the halls around the training grounds.

“Yes. This is the last place.”

The Nohrian prince had been relatively silent and distant throughout the time he had been with them. He would walk in front of them, only speaking to let them know they were getting close to their next destination, he would help them gather whoever was there then leave to guide them to the next stop as soon as everything was clear. Takumi only needed one hand to count the number of times he even did so much as glance at them. He heard a lot about the younger Nohrian prince after the war, how he was known for being cynical and strict, but wise and mature and calculating. Yet this absent, empty and emotionless person that was guiding them; he couldn’t help but wonder if the Nohrian prince was secretly hiding an identical twin and the two traded places at some point. They had tried several times to start a conversation with, wanting to see how he was feeling or voicing their own concerns, but the lack of response they got made them feel as though they may as well be talking to a wall.

As they walked in silence, Leo eventually stopped a few feet away from a door leading to a training ground.

“There’s the last place.”

Takumi and his retainers walked forward towards the door, but stopped when they saw that Leo wasn’t following them.

“What’s wrong?” The samurai asked.

“...I...I can’t go with you.”

“What do you mean?”

“You don’t understand...I can’t go out there.”

“Why? How is this place different than everywhere else we’ve been?”

“Like I said, you don’t understand. Just go.”

“No, you’re not making any sense,” Takumi continued to pester him, “Before you were just fine, and now you’re acting stubborn as hell? You weren’t like this with the others we found, what makes this one different? Have you just been enduring it out of pride?”

“Be quiet…” His voice was low, but had an underlying tone of anger.

“I’m right aren’t I?” He continued prodding, “Everyone here is crying and grieving, but all you care about is preserving your image. No wonder you kept rushing us. You could show a little more respect for all the dead here.”

“Be quiet.”

“You’re unbelievable! To think Nohr would have such a heartless and self-centered prince! If you didn’t want to have to face your own failure, why did you even bother helping us in the first-” He hadn’t anticipated himself getting this angry, and he certainly wasn’t anticipating what would cut him off.

A burst of magic hit him before he had a chance to react, he winced as the sleeve of his shirt was torn, revealing a long shallow cut along his arm, not deep enough to bleed, but enough to sting.

“Lord Takumi!” Oboro felt her heart quicken at the sight of him being attacked, but felt herself calm a bit when she saw the scratch was the worst of his injuries.

“What are you-”

 **“I said be quiet, you damn Hoshidan brat!!!”** The anger in his voice echoed along the halls, one hand outstretched, radiating a powerful dark magic that lit the rage in his dark eyes, “Stop talking like you know what I’ve been through! The person out there is Elise!” The others fell silent as he continued, “Do you just expect me to go out there and have to face my failure like nothing?! It’s my fault this even happened! I couldn’t protect her, and she died because of that! If it was anyone else with her, she would still be here! You don’t have any idea what I’ve been through! You don’t know what I’m going through right now! You know nothing about me! **SO STOP ACTING LIKE IT!!!”**

The magic in his hand was growing with each sentence, burning in an intense fire that clawed at the nerves of the Hoshidans. Takumi expected him to attack him again and the fury in his eyes made it seem like he was.

But then his hands and eyes clinched shut tightly, his body began to tremble, his breath started to hitch. The magic in his hand quickly diminished as he felt to his knees, his head hanging low as tears started to fall from his eyes and hit the floor beneath him, “...Gods dammit......Elise...”

The entire situation had shifted so quickly. Not mere moments ago, they were on edge from the building rage and magic coming from the prince. But now they felt conflicted seeing him look so sullen. While Hinata and Oboro stood there, unable to process anything, Takumi’s minds was already racing.

When he was accusing Leo, he let his anger affect his words and blind his judgement. They were supposed to be there to help them, and here he was practically trying to start a fight with one. One whose mental state has been slowly breaking over time, and he accused him of being selfish with no credible evidence.

Casting unwarranted judgement on someone who was suffering.

Takumi felt disgusted with himself.

He silently walked over to Leo, dropped to his knees and, with no hesitation, wrapped his arms around him, the blondes head resting on his right shoulder. At first he didn’t move, but Leo’s arms quickly wrapped around Takumi’s torso as he cried into his shoulder. Hinata and Oboro stood still in shock and surprise.

“Lord Takumi…”

“Go get Elise...make sure you’re gentle with her.”

Without arguing, the two retainers turned back to the door and entered the training ground. They were immediately hit with the horrid stench of blood, a large half dried red puddle on the ground and a mutilated small body not that far away. Hinata looked back at Oboro when he heard a loud gulp followed by a few coughs.

“Are you okay?”

“Barely,” Her hand covered her nose and mouth as she spoke, “I don’t know how much more of this I can handle.”

“Same here. Let’s just hurry and do what Lord Takumi said.”

Composing herself, the two swallowed their gorge before they walked over to the fallen Nohrian princess, silently apologizing and praying for the young one who was taken far too soon.

* * *

 

After a few hours, the restoration process was finally over. Every soldier that had fallen that night had been gathered and preparations were already being made to plan their funerals. Everyone was exhausted, both physically and mentally. Seeing so much death and witnessing so much pain and trauma put such a strain on the Hoshidan army. Wanting to give them some rest and salvation from their grueling work, Xander brought the two armies into a large waiting room. Everyone made quick work in finding a spot to rest; the chairs, the table, the window sill, even leaning against the walls. Once everyone was inside, Xander turned to face Ryoma.

“We can’t thank you enough for giving us your time and strength to assist us.”

“Please, think nothing of it. After seeing everything you’ve all suffered...no kind of apology we can give will be enough to heal the wound you’ve been given.”

“Your empathy is well appreciated.”

“Is there anything else you need us to do?” The eldest princess asked.

“In truth, there is one last thing we need you all to see,” He turned towards one of the guards standing in the doorway, “Bring him here, please.”

“Yes, milord,” With a bow, the guard left the room.

“What do you need to show us?”

Xander turned back to the Hoshidan crown prince, “I’ve told you how Corrin was the one who caused this. Once we had him cornered, we tried one last time to reach out to him. One last time to bring him back, to save him from his insanity driven bloodlust. But we couldn’t reach him. We were left with no other choice…” At that moment, the guard returned carrying a body bag in his arms. Walking up to him, Xander took the bag out of his arms, cradling it in his arms as he turned back to the other crown prince, “None of us wanted it to come to this, but fate decided to take it down this path…” He slowly reached up and unzipped the bag. The person inside froze the Hoshidans solid.

Corrin.

His previous blood soaked garment was replaced with fresh clothes, the blood was washed off his body and hair, and his face and neck were covered in stitches from his several injuries. He looked oddly peaceful and calm. To any outsider, he would have looked like he was sleeping. But his still and silent form told the Hoshidans otherwise.

“Corrin…” Hinoka whispered grimly as the four royals gathered around Xander and Corrin’s body.

Ryoma’s hand shakily came up and rested on his brothers head, “Tell me...was this truly the only option for this to come to?” Xander gave him a dim nod before he looked back down at Corrin’s body, “I’m sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing?”

“It was my blade that stole his husband from him. Had I not been so reckless, Corrin wouldn’t have suffered that loss...and none of this would have happened to you all.”

“You don’t have to place the burden on just yourself,” Xander conjoled the other crown prince, “We are at fault just as much. We weren’t there to comfort him, to be at his side as he cried every day. We allowed him to wallow in his despair. We failed to protect him as siblings should,” He looked down to Corrin as well, “In his last moments, it seemed as though he wanted nothing more than for it to end. We can only hope that now he has found peace, and now he can rest.”

He slowly reach for the zipper again, a low whisper slipping through his lips as he glanced one more time at his brother before the bag completely closed.

“...Goodbye, little prince.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To finish such a long project means much to me. This is my first time in writing in the horror genre, and any constructive criticism will be welcome, as I would love to work more in this genre in the future. I have a lot of ideas in mind, and I'd appreciate any tips that can help make my future works even better.  
> Thank you all for the time you've given me and for making this my most viewed story on this account. You all are great and I am forever in your debt.


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